Rising Tides
by AttemptedWriter939
Summary: "A single decision changed, and a clan survives, barely. The tattered remnants of the Uzumaki flee Uzushiogakure. What will happen when they return? What will Naruto do with a clan behind him, and new and powerful enemies added to those who already threaten his world?" Naruto,Fu,Hinata Ino,OC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I am a long time lurker on this site, and I finally put into words an idea that's been kicking around in my head. It's my first ever story and I would appreciate any and all feedback. Thank you in advance!

 ***DISCLAIMER- I DON'T OWN NARUTO*- It's Kishimoto's sandbox, I'm just playing in it.**

 **UZUSHIOGAKURE-12 YEARS PRIOR TO KYUUBI ATTACK**

The sky was black with smoke, battle cries mixing with the screams of the fearful and the dying. After three hellish days of nightmarish battle, the Grand Coalition of Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri had broken through to the heart of the village. The results of their revenge could be seen as the streets ran red with blood. Destructive jutsus lanced through the air, felling villagers and buildings alike.

The surprise attack had come at the worst possible moment. The evacuation plan created last night, to sneak the civilians out through a secret tunnel to ships waiting in a sea cave, had just been implemented. The enemy shouldn't have been able to find that hidden bay, much less know to strike while their attention was on organizing the escape. Betrayal from within was the most likely cause, but a bitter pill to swallow.

These were the thoughts of an imposing man as he strode with grim purpose through the village. Enemy shinobi would flash in front on him, attacking with blades or jutsu, only to be swept aside. " _Blood-drunk fools"_ the man sneered " _I am Ashara Uzumaki! Brother to the Clan Head himself!"_ He carried a long staff topped with a brass ring, like that of a priest. However, this staff had crystal prisms adorning that ring, crackling and spitting with lightning energy.

Ashara knew that the most powerful foes were busy on the front lines, engaging the last line of the village's defenders. Almost all of the chuunin of Uzushio were there, as well as all the jounin. That was Ashara's destination as well. He had just left the area where he had been organizing the genin and low-chuunin protecting the civilian wagon train. He had left a mid-chuunin in charge and then went to die by his brother's side.

A sobbing cry to one side grabbed his attention, and he saw a Kumo and Iwa nin apparently fighting over a prize. Said prize was a crying, terrified redheaded teenage girl on her knees between the two, with her clothes in tatters. "I saw her first, she's mine first!" the Iwa nin declared. "Fine, but I get to keep the breeder!" the Kumo nin granted. The obvious intention of the two, combined with calling one of his precious family a "breeder", sent cold fury racing through Ashara. He slammed the butt of his staff on the ground as he cried out "Raiton: Electromagnetic Murder!" Bolts of lightning shot from the prisms on his staff, skewering and frying the two ninjas.

The girl on the ground looked up in shock to a see a tall aging man, streaks of red in his long graying hair. He had a neatly cropped reddish gray beard that extended from his sideburns along his jaw to meet up above his mouth, leaving his chin bare. He walked forward, mindless of the blood on the ground staining his deep blue robe that covered a white shirt and pants, tied with a sea green sash.

Shock turned to joy as the girl scrambled to her feet, desperately trying gather her clothes around her. "Ashara-sama! Thank you! Thank you so much!" she cried. Without a word, he thrust his staff into her hands. "Ashara-sama..?" she began to question as she then felt his robe settle around her near naked form. As he was tying off the sash, she began to protest. "Ashara-sama! I-I can't… you don't have to…"

"Hush child, just come with me" Ashara said, retaking his staff and silencing her gently. " _Brother, wait for me, I'll be there soon. Right now one of our family needs me"_ Ashara thought. "I'm going to escort you to the evacuation caravan" he said as he guided her forward. As she poured out her appreciation, Ashara's attention was already on their surroundings, alert for any ambush.

A few blocks down, they came across a sobbing child no older than 3, clutching at a hand protruding from a pile of rubble. The girl rushed to the side of the small boy as he wailed for his mother to wake up. "Please carry him" Ashara said sadly. The teenager nodded and gathered the boy in her arms, trying to soothe him. The next block down, they found a lost girl, wandering in confused fear; two blocks later a boy trapped in a guard outpost, and so on it went. Ashara had just meant to get the teenager free from would-be rapists, then get back to the fighting. Now he had a long string of children behind him. He had even lost the teenaged girl to an Iwa ambush earlier, as she bravely shielded the children with her own body. He never even learned her name.

But to an Uzumaki, all the village was family, and family was to be protected at all costs. That's why all the ninjas Uzushio could spare were fighting to their last breath right now. Just on the slim hope that some would get away.

Relief flooded through Ashura as he caught sight of the entrance to the escape tunnel in the distance, with the latter half of the civilian caravan slipping inside. Their chuunin and genin guards were ushering them through as quickly as possible. That relief turned to dread as battle cries filled the air and Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri forces poured out of the surrounding buildings.

Ashara was certain of treachery now. This location was too far out of the way for this many ninja to attack in force, especially forces from all three countries. The civilians were suffering heavy losses as Ashara rushed forward to try and save the outnumbered and outclassed Uzu guards. He was proud to see that after a moment of surprise, even the youngest Uzu genin set themselves for battle, clearly ready to lay their lives down for the fleeing civilians. Ashara created nine Raiton clones, six of them gathering up his young charges and ushering them towards the tunnel. He and his other three clones charged, and Ashara winced as he saw many young Uzu nin bodies falling alongside the civilian ones. The enemy was slaughtering anybody they could reach, overturning wagons and setting them alight.

Ashara and his clones dove into battle, swiftly cutting down enemies to reach the knot of fighting bodies at the mouth of the wide tunnel. After they cleared enough space at the mouth of the tunnel, the few battered survivors remaining fled inside. The enemy ninja jumped back to gain some space, as many recognized him as one of the most powerful Uzushio had to offer. Many flinched at the angry countenance of Ashara, but continued to surround him. The air was still as Ashara and the enemy appraised each other. No Coalition ninja was eager to engage the "Red Death", but they had been ordered to secure this tunnel or to sabotage it.

"You come into my home, raping and murdering, even killing children before my very eyes" Ashara started angrily. Killing intent flooded from him as he set himself in front of the tunnel entrance, his clones flashing outside the crowd. He and his clones were now in a diamond pattern surrounding the enemy. "You DARE to attack my home! You DARE to attack MY FAMILY!" he roared. He and his clones flashed through identical hand seals, all stopping at the same moment. " **RAITON: FOUR PILLAR BIND** **!"** Four basalt pillars thrust from the ground and the clones dispelled, sending their lightning chakra into the pillars as they sizzled to life. Some ninja tried to  shunshin away, but were a moment too late as lighting crisscrossed between the pillars creating a deadly dome prison and slaughtering all within. Ashara held the jutsu until the screams within stopped, leaning on his staff winded, as the pillars crumbled to the ground.

He twirled as he felt a tug on his shirt, staff raised, only to see the anxious face of a fresh-out-of-the-academy genin. "What do we do Ashara-sama? More will be coming and all the chuunin are dead" the genin asked anxiously. "Who will lead us?"

Ashara looked back at the village in flames, torn between his heart and his duty. After a long moment, duty won out and he turned to place a comforting hand on the genin's shoulder. "Don't worry young one, I will lead our people to a new home" Ashara said.

"Oh thank you Ashara- sama! I thought they were going to wipe us all out!" the genin replied, rushing back down the tunnel. A shiver ran down Ashara's spine as he considered the genin's words. If he had gone down any other street, if he had not stopped to save that girl, he would have died at his brother's side. And the caravan would have died here. The Uzumaki would have been scattered to the four winds. His heart clenched at the possibility.

He took one last look at his home and went into the tunnel, collapsing the entrance with a simple doton jutsu. " _Forgive me brother, this fight I must leave to you. I must see to what's left of our clan. Goodbye."_

 **KONOHA- NIGHT OF KYUUBI ATTACK, OCTOBER 10TH**

The Village Hidden in the Leaves was reeling from being attacked by a gargantuan fox demon. It had survived annihilation thanks to its leader, Minato Namikaze the Fourth Hokage. The Council Chamber in the Hokage Tower was filled with anxious shinobi and distraught, panicky civilians. The noise level was deafening as shinobi couriers ran in and out, delivering reports. The civilian councilors remained underfoot, wailing and harassing the ninjas for news. They were desperate for any word of their beloved Hokage, as well as terrified about the fox demon, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, returning.

"SILENCE!" a commanding voice cut through the din. All eyes turned to the wizened form of the elderly Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as he strode through the doors in his Hokage robes and hat, carrying an infant. The Third's intimidating presence, as well as the curious sight of him in his old robes and carrying an infant, sufficiently shocked the councilors into quieting down and taking their seats. When the civilian councilors (and the shinobi councilors who were present and not out assisting the village) were seated, they all turned to the Third Hokage expectantly.

"Commander Shikaku, are you able to allow your second in command to take over coordinating aid and rescue efforts?" Hiruzen asked, directing a look to a scarred, brunette man in a green jounin flak jacket.

"Yes sir, Hokage-sama" the now named Shinobi Commander replied. He then turned and quietly issued orders to the man standing behind his chair. The second in command gathered up all the couriers and bystanders with a look, rightfully guessing that what came next was council business. Two masked men in black flak jackets armed with tantos, members of the ANBU special forces, remained taking up positions flanking the doors after they were closed.

"Please sea-"the Hokage was cut off by a frantic civilian councilor.

"Hokage-sama! Where's Namikaze-sama!? Is the fox coming back!?" At this the civilian side burst into questions, talking over each other. The exhausted Hokage cut off the babbling with a hard gaze and liberal use of killing intent.

"Now, as I was saying, please seal the room and allow no one in until I say." Hiruzen calmly ordered the ANBU. One nodded and activated a glowing seal on the doors.

All eyes were fixed on the Hokage, and several of the shinobi thought he had never looked as old as he did right then. The room remained silent as the Hokage gazed down at the infant in his arms. The civilian side looked like they were about to explode with anxiety, so Shikaku decided to head them off.

"Hokage-sama, if I may, do you have an update on the situation?" he inquired respectfully.

The Hokage sighed and brought his head up.

"Minato-kun is dead." He stated simply. As predicted, this elicited an uproar from both sides. "How?" "When?" "What about the fox?" "We're all gonna die!"

The Third simply closed his eyes and let them vent a moment as he tried to compose himself. He had lost both his friend and successor Minato, along with Minato's secret wife Kushina Uzumaki, whom the Third loved like a daughter. They had died in front of his eyes, as he could only watch from the other side of a barrier Minato had put up while sealing the Kyuubi. But… the most painful loss was that of his gentle and devoted wife, Biwako. He steeled himself by remembering that he had a village to stabilize, as well as the future of the frail infant, currently wailing in his arms due to the noise.

"Enough! There is more." The firm voice of their leader was sufficient to cut through the din and return the councilors to their seats.

"The Kyuubi is no longer a danger to us. Minato-kun, may he rest in peace, sealed the Kyuubi away into this poor infant." This announcement was met with shock, then both sides erupted again. The civilian side (as well as a couple of the more ignorant shinobi) started calling for the infant's death, thinking that the Fourth sealed the Kyuubi into a child so that it would be easier to kill. Some of the other shinobi councilors were all clamoring for a plan to raise or adopt the child as they understood what power the child could learn to wield when he grew older.

The Hokage was taken aback by this, and realized that the poor child could upset the balance between the clans without even trying. He had hoped that the village would see the child as a hero like Minato had wanted, but all they saw him as was as a weapon or a monster. Looking to the side, he caught the contemplative gaze of his life-long rival, Danzo Shimura. Hiruzen could practically hear the gears turning in Danzo's head as to how he was going to obtain the boy, and turn him into an emotionless puppet tool.

Hiruzen decided to fall back on the emergency contingency plan he and his student, Jiraiya of the Sannin, had come up with. For the boy was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, son of two of the most powerful ninja in Konoha. Hiruzen now knew that he had to conceal that fact to protect the boy. This time the Hokage simply pumped out killing intent to shut everyone up. When the Chamber was silent again he spoke out.

"This child is no monster! He is the Kyuubi's _vessel_. I am now declaring this an S-Class secret. Do not reveal his status to anyone! On pain of death!" He ordered firmly. In his heart Hiruzen knew the entire village would know in a day, but he hoped this would at least help with those Naruto's age. "Furthermore, he will not be assigned to any clan, he will be placed in an orphanage until we can make a better plan for him." Hiruzen continued. He looked directly at Danzo as he finished, with a firm gaze. " _There is no way in hell I'll let you turn Naruto into one of your puppet ROOT soldiers, Danzo!"_ the Hokage thought.

"What is his name?" a blonde man with a pony tail, two strands of hair framing his face and a jounin flak jacket spoke out. " _Now for the second part of the plan_ " thought Hiruzen as he responded. He made a show of looking down at the infant, deep in thought.

"His name will be Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki Inoichi-san."

"Is he an Uzumaki?" Inoichi asked with surprise.

"No, he will be named Uzumaki after Kushina Uzumaki who died helping Minato-kun seal the Kyuubi, to honor her." Hiruzen continued. He then glanced up at the red swirling Uzumaki clan sigil that adorned the space above the doors. "There should always be an Uzumaki in Konoha." He said solemnly.

"Kushina-dono's dead too!?" screamed out a feral looking brunette woman with two red fang clan marking on her cheeks. "Yes Tsume-san, I am sorry." The Hokage replied sadly. Tsume slumped back in her chair. Kushina had always been a kunoichi that other kunoichi should aspire to, and Tsume had a great deal of respect for her.

"Alright, I think that is enough for now. We have a lot of work ahead of us tonight. Go and help wherever you can" the Hokage said. As the council filed out, the Hokage gazed down at the now peacefully sleeping infant. "Poor Naruto-kun, what a burden for one so young" he muttered. Hiruzen then strode purposefully from the Chamber to make arrangements with the ANBU Commander to protect Naruto.

 **KONOHA- MERCHANT DISTRICT- 3 YEARS LATER**

A friendly looking elderly woman walked down the market streets of Konoha, pushing a small cart ahead of her. As she wandered from produce stall to produce stall, she would add different fruits and vegetables to it. Many called out friendly greetings as it was apparent she was well liked.

"Hiko-chan! Here, I have a bushel of rice for you and those kids!" a wrinkled, sun browned farmer called out to her. With a light blush, Hiko pushed her cart over to his stall.

"Thank you Nobu-kun" Hiko replied.

"Of course!" Nobu said jovially.

"How much do I owe you?" Hiko asked.

"Nothing, as always" he replied. Hiko planted her fists on her hips.

"How many times do I have to say you don't need to constantly feed us for free?" Hiko demanded, but the effect was somewhat spoiled by her lips twitching into a grin.

"At least once more, like always" laughed Nobu. "I was an orphan once too, so I appreciate what you're doing for those kids. Especially poor little Naruto." At this Hiko looked a little downcast.

"Poor child can't even step foot outside the orphanage now. And I have to hide him whenever potentially adopting parents come to see the children." Hiko replied sadly.

"Hey, cheer up Hiko-chan. At least he's got you. And you say that the Hokage looks in on him! He should be okay." Nobu said consolingly.

"You're right Nobu-kun, I've got to get going. I'll see you next week." Hiko said as she waved goodbye and started toward the orphanage. Nobu waved back and directed his attention back to his stall. Neither noticed the shadowy presence following Hiko. As Hiko turned down a small alley, a man blurred into being behind her. She just had enough time to notice the blank white mask on his face as he effortlessly snapped her neck. She kicked out as he did so, and the man shunshined away with her body, the squeaking cart slowly rolling down the alley the only proof she had ever been there.

 **KONOHA- 2 YEARS LATER, OCTOBER 10** **TH**

A band of traveling merchants had set up their wagons in rows behind the vendor stalls set up for the festival celebrating the defeat of the Kyuubi. A merchant named Mirobu Kamiumi was checking the wagons, on guard for thieves. He was about 5'9", 145lbs. with shoulder length hazel hair. He was dressed in merchant's robes with just enough embroidery and jewelry to convey prosperity without appearing to flaunt his wealth or overshadow his customers. A gentle smile could usually be found on his face, but otherwise he didn't stand out much. All of a sudden, he caught a yellow flash out of the corner of his eye.

" _Can't get past me!_ " he thought with a smirk. He snuck around the other side of the cart and quickly reached under and grabbed the person sneaking underneath. He pulled out his prize and was shocked to discover he had a small boy that couldn't be older than his own 6 year old daughter.

"N-No! Don't hurt me! I-I'm sorry! Please!" sobbed the boy hysterically.

"Whoa, whoa calm down little one! No one's going to hurt you!" Mirobu said as he grabbed the boy by the shoulders and tried to calm him down. Now that he could get a good look at him, Mirobu saw a scrawny, dirty boy with sun-kissed blonde hair and sapphire-blue eyes that were watering fearfully. He also had birthmarks that remarkably seemed like whisker marks on his cheeks.

"Hush… hush boy. I promise I won't hurt you, ok? What's your name?" Mirobu said gently. The small boy stopped trembling and stuttered out "N-Na-Naruto Uzumaki."

"You promise y-you w-won't hurt me?" Naruto asked fearfully. At hearing the name Uzumaki, Mirobu's eyes widened.

"Uzumaki? You're an Uzumaki!? B-But you're a blonde!" Mirobu exclaimed. At this, Naruto's face screwed up in confusion.

"Eh? What? What does that mean?" Naruto asked. At this point, Mirobu truly noticed how malnourished he was, and dressed in rags. Mirobu pushed his curiosity about Naruto's lineage to the back of his mind.

"Never mind Naruto-san, it's nothing. Hey, are you hungry? My wife is an excellent cook, and I'd like you to meet my daughter! She is about… your… age…" Midori trailed off as a confusing parade of emotions flashed by on the boy's face. Hope followed by joy, then apprehension, then fear, then schooling itself into a dead stoicism that was shocking to see on the face of a child.

"Naruto-san? Are you ok? What's wrong?" Mirobu asked, his voice laced with compassion.

"You mean it? Do you really mean it? This isn't a joke, right?" the way wariness overlaid the desperate hope in Naruto's voice made Mirobu's heart clench.

"No, Naruto. This is no joke. Please come with me, ok?" Mirobu said gently and released Naruto, walking towards the wagon that served as his home. He kept glancing at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, confused at the way Naruto crept along a pace behind him like a wary dog that had been kicked too often. He was both eager and dreading finding out about the blonde enigma. As he neared his home, Mirobu could smell the aroma of his beloved wife Miyuki's delicious cooking wafting toward him. He smirked when he saw Naruto perk up and actually take the lead toward the wagon.

The steps attached to the back of the wagon creaked slightly as Mirobu and Naruto ascended. When Mirobu opened the door, the aroma made Naruto close his eyes, inhale loudly, and drool. Mirobu chuckled at the reaction, which made the woman standing at the built in stove turn towards him. She was a petite woman, standing at only 5'3" and 110 lbs. She had beautiful, deep green hair and striking ruby red eyes. As he caught sight of her, Naruto blushed deeply and shyly hid behind Mirobu, clutching onto his leg. Mirobu's heart melted at that as he chuckled at the change in Naruto's demeanor. He was glad that Naruto was showing him some trust. Miyuki came over to the pair and kneeled down to be eyelevel with Naruto.

"Ara, ara. It seems we have a guest. And what's your name?" Miyuki said smiling gently.

"I-It's Naruto" Naruto said as he tried to burrow deeper into Mirobu's leg.

"Hello Naruto, my name is Miyuki. It's nice to meet you" Miyuki said. All of a sudden, Naruto detached from Mirobu's leg and moved around to where he could look into Mirobu's face. His face was screwed up into a fox like expression of confusion.

"Hey old man, you said your daughter was my age. She's not my age" Naruto said, pointing at Miyuki.

"What? Miyuki's my wife Naruto" Mirobu replied confused.

"What? No way! She's way too pretty and young to be your wife, old man!" exclaimed Naruto, pointing an accusing finger at Mirobu. Mirobu growled and gained a tic mark at that, but Miyuki brought her hands up to her blushing cheeks as she laughed. Shaking her head cutely, she was amazed this little boy had endeared himself to her so quickly. She wrapped him up in a hug and was surprised as he immediately started to squirm in panic. Miyuki let him go, shock written across her features.

"Are you okay Naruto? Did I hurt you?" Miyuki asked fearfully. She gazed in concern as Naruto seemed to huddle into himself a little. But then he put his hands behind his head in a sheepish pose as he forced a wide grin with his eyes closed.

"Sorry pretty lady, I was just surprised is all. I didn't know what you were doing…" Naruto got out.

"It's ok, Naruto. I'm sorry if I startled you." Miyuki said concerned. She glanced up to see Mirobu also looking down with deep concern at the boy. He slowly placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and flinched when he saw Naruto flinch, shirking from the contact a bit.

"Midori-chan! Please come out here" Mirobu called out. There was some clattering and the cloth that separated the cooking area and the living area twitched aside to reveal a chipper 6 year old. Wearing a short sleeved brown shirt with tan pants and white sandals, she bounded up to Naruto. Naruto opened his eyes to see a purple haired girl that had obviously inherited her mother's red eyes. Naruto blushed again, even though the girl was a bit of a tomboy. Getting right up in his face, she beamed a brilliant smile at Naruto.

"Hi" she chirped "What's your name? Where'd you come from? Are you having fun at the festival? Hey, are those whiskers? Are you staying for dinner? My okaa-san's the best cook! C'mon, I want to show you what I won at one of the game booths!" Without waiting for the gob-smacked Naruto to even recover from the rapid fire questioning, Midori grabbed his hand and pulled him into the front of the wagon. As the curtain fell back into place, Miyuki stood up and looked at her husband with watery eyes.

"What the hell, Mirobu-kun!? Where'd that sweet boy come from? What happened to him? Why does he not even know what a HUG IS!?" Miyuki obviously displayed that her daughter got her personality as well as her eyes. During her tirade, she had grabbed a double handful of Mirobu's robes and brought his face down to hers. Mirobu flinched at the flinty glint in her watery eyes, and gulped audibly.

"Easy, my love, easy. I just found him sneaking around the camp, and when I caught him I noticed that he looked starving. Then I brought him here. That's all I know, I swear!" Mirobu exclaimed, frantically waving his hands about to prove his innocence. Miyuki's eyes skewered through the sweating Mirobu, who was surprised when Miyuki suddenly called out "Midori-chan! Please look after Naruto-kun for a moment, your father and I are going to talk outside!" "Ok, mom!" Midori called back.

At that, Miyuki dragged a feebly protesting Mirobu out the back door. As soon as Miyuki and Mirobu were outside, Miyuki spun around into Mirobu's chest. Her hands twisted into his robes again and pulled him close. Mirobu calmed down and pulled his wife close, running his hands through her gorgeous waist length hair. He had always thought that her hair was one of the most beautiful things about her. She slowly calmed down under his tender ministrations, and looked up at her gentle hearted husband. He gave her as reassuring a smile as he could, considering that his emotions were as tumultuous as hers were.

Miyuki's face grew thoughtful. "He's an orphan, right? He must be" she muttered as she snuggled into Mirobu's chest. Her eyes closed as she felt calm wash over her, listening to his steady heartbeat. Both Miyuki and Midori had seen many street urchins in their travels, and could easily tell what someone living on the streets looked like. But Konoha was a large enough and prosperous enough village that they ran public orphanages, open to any under the legal working age so that children didn't have to run the streets. Even after the Kyuubi attack, there should still be room. There was no reason that Naruto should be so malnourished. Mirobu's brow furrowed as he tried to unravel the mystery surrounding the blonde boy.

"He must be. Although, I don't know why he is living in such a state. Nor can I explain why he seems to have little to no experience with human contact." Mirobu replied. He stared off into space above his wife's head. He didn't like the implications that his observations about Naruto brought up. It was like Naruto was some leper, but Mirobu hadn't seen any sign of plague or illness. It worried him. Miyuki frowned slightly as she looked up at the troubled face of her dear husband. All of a sudden Mirobu was startled out of his reverie when Miyuki lightly poked his forehead with her pointer and middle fingers.

"You look like an old man when you worry like that, you'll get wrinkles." She lightly admonished, grinning. Mirobu's arms tightened around his wife as he smiled gratefully down at her. Suddenly, Miyuki brightened and flashed a mega-watt smile at Mirobu.

"Oh, can we keep him?" she chirped. Mirobu sweat-dropped at that. "He's not a puppy Mi-chan. We don't even know his story yet" Mirobu said consolingly, using his affectionate nickname for Miyuki. She pouted cutely up at him, but didn't press the issue. She painted a determined look on her face and poked a finger into Mirobu's chest.

"Fine, but I'm feeding him until he bursts and he's getting new clothes!" Miyuki declared. Mirobu just threw back his head and laughed at his wife's antics. She always knew just how to make him feel better. He leaned in and kissed her passionately, letting the stress of the last few minutes melt away. The couple were so entranced with each other they didn't hear the back door bang open, or the two shapes that burst out.

"Hey okaa-san, we're ready to- EWWW, they're making kissy faces again!" Midori spat. The couple separated and laughed at the looks on the two children's faces, who were still afraid of "cooties".

"Alright, you two! Inside. Time to get dinner on the table. Are you hungry, Naruto?" Miyuki asked. "Yatta! I'm starving, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted out, jumping and pumping a fist in the air.

Both adults were happy to see that Midori had apparently had a positive effect on Naruto. They all filed inside, and the meal was soon set out on a table that folded out from the wall. "Itadakimasu!" they all called out, and heartily dug into Miyuki's excellent cooking. "Wow Miyuki-oba, this is great!" Naruto managed to get out through a mouthful of food.

He had an onigiri in one hand and chopsticks with yakisoba in the other. He was funneling food into his mouth as quickly as possible, barely stopping for oxygen. The other three at the table just looked on, mouths agape at the spectacle of Naruto gorging himself on Miyuki's food. Finally Miyuki roused herself, "Naruto, slow down! I can see we definitely need to teach you table manners" she admonished.

"Swowwy" Naruto mumbled before swallowing his mouthful bashfully. He looked down at his plate sadly, with his hands in his lap. Mirobu and Miyuki gave the boy pitying looks, while Midori just giggled behind her hands. Midori then poked Naruto in the side, rousing him from his self-admonishment. His head whipped around in surprise just in time to receive an onigiri in the face.

"Hey!" he yelped. Then a devious smirk grew on Naruto's face. Midori backed away from the table with her hands held up in defense before her. However, there was a broad smile on her face as well. "I'll get you for that!" yelled Naruto as he grabbed a handful of nori salad and lunged at Midori. Squealing with laughter, Midori ducked under Naruto's errant swing and crawled under the table to get away from her culinary assailant. "I'll get you yet!" Naruto yelled. He showed a surprising amount of agility and strength as he sprung off the small stool he was using, then jumped up and planted his empty hand on the table, using it to vault over the table and chase after Midori.

Midori shrieked happily and ran out the back door, her blonde attacker hot on her heels. The delighted yells and squeals from the playing duo brought smiles to the happy couple remaining at the now-messy table. Mirobu flinched as Miyuki suddenly swung toward her husband displaying the most dreaded of all techniques. The incredibly powerful Puppy Eyes no Jutsu.

"He's so adorable! And Midori-chan likes him so much too! Are you suuure~ we can't keep him?" Miyuki pleaded with her hands clasped under her chin." Mirobu sweat-dropped as he struggled against his wife's power. "Ano… ano…" He was saved when Midori came rocketing back into the wagon and launched herself into her father's lap, crawling up onto his shoulders to get away from the blonde menace.

Desperate for a distraction, Mirobu deftly snagged the nori out Naruto's hand with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth. His plan to stall for a response to his wife backfired, though. He had to school his face to stillness as he chewed. Apparently, Naruto had used that hand to prop himself on the ground at least once, as Mirobu tasted dirt. Nevertheless, he soldiered on, powering through the gritty mastication of the salad. Midori and Naruto were staring at Mirobu with shock and a bit of awe, while Miyuki was struggling to stifle her giggles behind a dainty hand.

Naruto couldn't believe his luck as the evening wore on. He played games with the Kamiumi family, and played with Midori and the stuffed dolls she had won at the festival. He felt safe, and… normal. Like he wasn't the "demon brat" or anything else he was called so often that at one point he had forgot his own name. He now knew and felt what a family truly felt like. It sent a deep pang through him at times when he realized it. At those times, Mirobu and Miyuki would look on with pity and compassion, but Midori would only show confusion when she noticed.

It finally came to the point Naruto dreaded, when Mirobu and Miyuki were putting Midori to bed. Watching the two parents tuck her in and kiss her goodnight made this all seem like a dream that he was about to wake up from. He wrapped his arms tightly around his torso and turned away to leave. As he was about to sneak back to the lean-to he had set up in an alley, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Flinching, he looked over his shoulder to see the warm, caring countenance of Miyuki.

"Where do you think you're going?" she questioned softly. Naruto looked down in despair. "I-I-I need to… I'm going… I'll just…" Naruto mumbled. He stood stock-still, hands clenched into fists, eyes squeezed shut and leaking tears. He froze when he felt two arms slowly wrap around him from behind.

"Shush… shush. It's alright. It's ok" Miyuki whispered comfortingly. "You're safe here, and I'm not letting go." Naruto felt so warm and safe within the hug; he was terrified that if he turned around he would wake up from this incredible dream, wet and shivering under his scrap of cloth in an alley.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you…" Miyuki said, running one hand soothingly through Naruto's hair. Mirobu then kneeled down and wrapped his arms around them both. At this the emotional dam burst and Naruto buried himself into Miyuki's lap as best he could, crying his eyes out. Anguished sobs wracked his small frame as he purged the scars of the last two years. Miyuki wrapped a hand around the back of Naruto's head, bringing him tight against her chest. Naruto didn't realize that the tears flowing down were not just his own as both Mirobu and Miyuki also let their own anguish leak out, thinking of what could possibly cause such a reaction in Naruto.

Midori lay wrapped up in her blanket, hearing her new friend bawl his eyes out. Finally, she couldn't take anymore and crawled out of her bed sneaking over to the trio dragging her blanket behind her. Mirobu was the first to notice her, and smiled through his tears beckoning her over to them. She shuffled over, not quite understanding what was going on, but she couldn't help but feel the raw emotion emanating from her beloved parents and new friend. Mirobu and Miyuki shuffled around and arranged it so that Midori and Naruto were covered in her blanket and embraced between them. The two children soon fell asleep, exhausted from the torrent of emotion they didn't quite understand.

Mirobu smiled gently at Miyuki as he cradled the sleeping Midori to his chest. Miyuki responded with a loving smile as she did the same with Naruto. They made their way over to the sleeping area. Luckily, Midori's bunk was already down from the wall, so they simply laid the two children down and covered them with Midori's blanket. Miyuki cooed softly as she watched Midori cuddle into Naruto. She couldn't resist and leaned over to lay a soft kiss on Naruto's forehead. Naruto shifted in his sleep and mumbled out "okaa-san". This was enough to bring tears to Miyuki's eyes and she had to turn away, lest she start crying again. She didn't want to wake the two as Mirobu tucked them in. The couple then went outside to talk over what they just experienced.

"I'm keeping him" were Mirobu's first words as he and his wife sat on the back steps. "No one deserves whatever that poor boy has been through." He slipped his arm around her shoulders while staring contemplatively off into the night. "I will not allow this… whatever it is to continue!" Mirobu declared with his jaw set.

Miyuki looked up at her husband's profile and was reminded of so many reasons why she fell for this kind and courageous man. She smiled to herself as she snuggled into his side. She felt so warm and secure, and she was so proud of him at that moment. Family was paramount to Mirobu and she couldn't help but think it had just grown by one more. Not that she minded, of course. Naruto seemed lively enough to handle her tomboyish, head strong, reckless daughter. Miyuki then huffed out a breath, obviously Midori had gotten her stubborn nature from her father. She then felt Mirobu quake as he chuckled.

"What're you laughing at?" Miyuki questioned. "Oh, nothing… Nothing at all my love." came Mirobu's mirthful reply. Miyuki's eyes narrowed and she poked Mirobu hard in the ribs. "It better had be nothing" she warned. But Mirobu could practically feel her grinning into his chest. He looked up and saw a shooting star.

"Make a wish, hime" he whispered. "The stars are falling for your beauty." Miyuki lightly swatted him in the chest. "You're such a goof" she said grinning widely. "My wish is…" "Wait! You can't say it or it won't come true!" admonished Mirobu. "You're such a goof" returned Miyuki. They stayed like that late into the night.

The next morning, Naruto was slowly rousing himself from dreamland, only to discover a comfortable warmth on his side. He was confused since he normally woke up cold and shivering. Looking around, he noticed a wood ceiling above and a cozy wool blanket draped over him. He started to panic at the unfamiliar setting, but then the warmth at his side gave him a squeeze. His head snapped to his left in shock to see a mop of purple hair snuggled up to his chest. All of a sudden, the memories of last night flooded through him. He choked back a sob at the thought of someone finally showing him compassion and acknowledging his existence. He had been ignored and ostracized so long, he still had trouble believing this was real. It seemed like the end to a nightmare that started two years ago.

The kindly caretaker of his orphanage suddenly disappeared. Afterwards, a replacement showed up that treated him just like everyone else in the village. She called him a "demon brat", "monster", "vile". She cuffed him and punished him for the simplest things. She actually encouraged the other children to bully the "demon brat" and told him that no one would ever want him. That he would never have a family. He had no idea why this was happening, and when he asked about the former caretaker, the current one said that Naruto had made her up. Said that the kindly Hiko was a dream, that she was never real.

He was given almost no food, all his belongings were given to the other "more deserving kids" and then eventually he was thrown out onto the street. Naruto didn't know it, but she had thrown him out purposefully when the weather started getting colder, hoping he would die in the snow. She even spread the word (discreetly of course, thanks to that foolish law of the Hokage) that the "demon brat" was out on the streets.

Naruto learned very quickly to hide and be invisible, to move through the sewers and alleys. To be caught was to learn pain until his angels in the white animal masks showed up. They always saved him and took away his tormentors, but they never stayed to help. Except the one in the dog mask who would always hesitate, and sometimes give him treats. After his angels came, the Hokage would appear soon after. He loved the Hokage like a grandfather, but couldn't understand why this was happening to him. Why people either ignored or hated him.

After two years, he began to think that Hiko actually _was_ a dream, that he had made her up just so he wouldn't be lonely. The Hokage had set him up in an apartment when he found out that Naruto had been kicked out of the orphanage, but the landlord would drive Naruto off if he saw Naruto actually using the apartment. He never spent more than a couple days in there before he was forced out onto the streets.

Naruto didn't want to make trouble for the Hokage, so he pretended to still live there when he visited the Hokage. He made a point to say that he would come to the Hokage Tower instead of the Hokage having to come to him. He didn't know where the idea or the determination came from, but he wanted to be strong and independent. To stand on his own two feet, without running to Hokage-jiji for every little thing. He wanted to be strong like a Hokage, to be recognized like a Hokage, to BE a Hokage. The thought of surpassing his jiji had taken root inside his 5 year old mind, and he went to absurd lengths with it. Like living under a crappy lean-to in the alley next to your apartment building to prove how strong you are.

But at this moment, that could have been another life, happening to another Naruto. He was snapped out of his thoughts when the smiling face of Mirobu appeared in his vision and he felt a warm, comforting hand laid on his forehead. "How about you get on up for me, Naruto? I've got something for you." Mirobu said, turning and walking back into the kitchen area of the wagon.

Naruto tried to hide how much he missed the warmth of that hand as it left, but the disappointment that flashed across his face wasn't missed by Mirobu. Naruto extracted himself from Midori's clutches and hopped down off the bunk bed. He headed through the dividing curtain and right away was hit with the aromas of enticing food. He couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed while in bed, even with the little chimney built into the roof of the wagon.

"Ah, Naruto-kun!" Miyuki greeted. "I have a special breakfast for you today! But, my husband wants to see you first. He's just outside." Miyuki said directing a warm smile at Naruto. As he passed her to go outside, Miyuki stopped him by placing a gentle hand softly on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here Naruto-kun. You will always be welcome here." Naruto blushed and shuffled outside, not knowing how to deal with this unexpected situation. When he walked out the door into the crisp fall air, the last thing he expected was ropes tied to the wagon and the tree next to it, draped with blankets.

"Ah, Naruto-kun! I have some clothes for you!" Mirobu exclaimed. "Just change behind these blankets. I'm sorry if it's a bit chilly, but I did lay a blanket on the ground so at least your feet won't have to deal with that!" Mirobu beamed as he held out a bundle of clothes to the boy.

"Why? What are you doing? Why are you giving me clothes? Why are you being so nice to me?" questioned Naruto. He couldn't help it, but the Kamiumis seemed too good to be true. He kept waiting for the trap to spring shut and have pig's blood dumped all over him or something.

At that, Mirobu's expression became pained. He kneeled down in front of Naruto and looked him in the eye. "Look, Naruto. I don't understand why you've had such a hard life, only that you have. I don't know how other people treated you, only that it seems to have been very poorly. I don't know what has happened in your life, but I want you to know that my family will always be here for you if you need it. I see a young boy who has had to be very strong, but is also very lonely. A few clothes is the least I could do." Mirobu finished with conviction. He then held out the clothes to Naruto again, who simply took them and walked inside the blanket "changing room", sniffling softly.

Naruto simply stood there for a long moment, hugging the new clothes to his chest. Then a spark lit his eye and he excitedly examined his new clothes. He had thick wool socks, with black pants, a burnt orange long sleeved shirt, and shoes that turned out to be a little too big. He quickly swapped out his tattered shirt and shorts. As he finished pulling on the shoes, he could hear a commotion on the other side of the blanket barrier. He heard raised voices and the creaking of a wagon, but it was only when he heard a startled cry from Miyuki and the ring of metal being unsheathed that he got worried. "Miyuki-oba!" Naruto cried lunging towards the blankets. As he neared them, the blankets were ripped aside to reveal the towering form of the ANBU, Inu.

"NARUTO! Are you okay!? What happened to you!?" Inu exclaimed, as he quickly looked Naruto over. "Never mind, come on, Hokage-sama is looking for you." Inu then looked down to a bored-looking pug at his feet. "Thank you Pakkun, you can go now" Inu said. Naruto was surprised to see a pug wearing a blue vest, with bandages down his right foreleg, and a Konoha hitae-ite tied to his head. Pakkun merely saluted and burst into a puff of smoke.

Naruto squawked as Inu grabbed him by the arm and yanked Naruto out into the clearing next to the wagon. "Oi, OI! Let me go Inu! I can walk by myself, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled as Inu placed him in front of the Hokage, whose face was drawn with worry. Naruto looked to the side to see the Kamiumi family backed up against their wagon's back door with Mirobu wielding an ornate dagger while facing off against three ANBU, his wife and daughter huddled behind him. Naruto could see that the ANBU weren't threatened and were just holding Mirobu there, but it still sent a jolt up his spine. Naruto spun on the Hokage with a betrayed expression. "What are you doing jiji!? Leave them alone, dattebayo!" Naruto spat at his surrogate grandfather with an accusing finger jabbing at him.

The Hokage recoiled in shock. Naruto had never spoken with such malice towards him before. The Hokage then glanced towards the Kamiumi family that was obviously watching the exchange intently. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I just got worried when I couldn't find you. ANBU, stand down!" Naruto visibly relaxed when the ANBU put away their blades, prompting Mirobu to follow suit. "Naruto-kun!" Midori cried and launched herself at Naruto. Her crying form latched onto Naruto tightly, which prompted Naruto to renew his glare at the Hokage. Hiruzen flinched, unused to such treatment from his surrogate grandson.

"ANBU, I believe there has been a misunderstanding. Please withdraw until I call for you and create a perimeter. Let no one through." Hiruzen paused as his orders were carried out. "Mirobu-san, Miyuki-san please accept my deepest apologies" at this the Hokage bowed his head. Mirobu and Miyuki were flabbergasted. They couldn't believe that one of the most powerful men in the Elemental Nations was making obeisance to them. "P-Ple-Please Hokage-sama, don't do that! There's no harm done! Please!" Mirobu got out. The Hokage straightened with a gentle smile. "I apologize sir, I just got worried when I couldn't find Naruto-kun. The Kyuubi Festival is a particularly dangerous time for him." Hiruzen said absently while gazing fondly at his favorite blonde, who was consoling Midori as she examined him frantically for injuries.

"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry. I want to apolo-" that's as far as the Hokage got before the now-recovered purple haired terror leapt over and delivered a swift kick to the Hokage's shin. The Hokage allowed the girl to deliver the kick, but was surprised at the power she managed to put behind it.

"Midori-chan!? I am so, so sorry Hokage-sama! Please forgive us! She's just a child, Hokage-sama!" Mirobu apologized rapidly to the Hokage, all the while forcibly making the obviously unrepentant Midori bow in apology. The Hokage couldn't help but think he hadn't seen a glare that potent in a while. The Hokage put a gentle hand on Mirobu's shoulder to calm him. Then he kneeled down to meet the angry eyes of Midori.

"Midori-chan is it? I hope to-" Hiruzen started before being cut off when the diminutive firecracker surprised him by poking him in the chest. "You be nice! You're being scary for no reason!"

"Midori-chan!" Mirobu cried, grabbing her away from the aging leader. "Hokage-sama, I'm so sorr-" Mirobu was cut off as he heard the Hokage burst into laughter. Hiruzen continued to chuckle as he looked into the resolute ruby eyes of the 6 year old. She had her fists planted on her hips, glaring at him in her best imitation of her mother when angry.

"How about we all calm down with a nice pot of tea?" the Hokage offered. Miyuki spoke up. "Excellent idea, Hokage-sama! Please make yourself at home my lord!" she said eagerly. Hiruzen chuckled. "I would be delighted. Please be at ease, I am grateful for the regard you have shown Naruto-kun."

The Kamiumis relaxed at that and Miyuki went inside to start a pot of tea. The others all filed into the wagon's cramped kitchen space. Mirobu and Miyuki obviously worried that they couldn't provide better lodgings for the Hokage. Naruto was first to break the silence. "I'm sorry I worried you jiji." He said bashfully. The Hokage looked fondly over at him. "I didn't think that anyone would notice if I was gone for a while…" At that, all three adults frowned at the simple statement's implications.

The Hokage was the first to recover. "Don't worry Naruto-kun, why don't you take Midori-chan and go play for a bit?" he asked. Naruto was fine with that, but Midori was looking worriedly up at the Hokage. "Ok jiji! C'mon Midori-chan, show me that blackberry patch you were telling me about!" Naruto grabbed Midori's hand and lead her outside.

Silence reigned as Miyuki bustled about making tea. Finally, they were all settled in the Kamiumi's humble kitchen. Mirobu was the first to speak. "Ano... Hokage-sama, we are deeply honored to have you grace our home. Deeply honored" Mirobu declared fervently. At this he exchanged a nervous glance with his wife. "If I may, Hokage-sama, I'm a little confused…" Mirobu trailed off, unable to articulate his confusion as to why the Hokage of all people seemed to be interested in them. Things weren't adding up. If Naruto was worthy of an ANBU sweep team finding him, then why was he living on the streets, starving? He called the freaking Hokage, "Grandpa", for Kami's sake! What the hell was going on!?

"Also, I apologize again for my daughter's behavior, Hokage-sama." Mirobu said, bowing low. "I have no excuse!" Mirobu said. The Hokage merely inclined his head in acceptance. Mirobu the gathered his courage, facing the Hokage resolutely. "Please indulge me a moment, if you would Hokage-sama. Why are you here?" Mirobu queried.

"Why involve myself over a lowly orphan, you mean?" the Hokage chuckled. The Kamiumis jolted and turned to each other reflexively. "I-I don't really know how to respond to that, Hokage-sama" Mirobu returned weakly. The Hokage simply sipped his tea, weighing the couple in front of him with an appraising eye.

Mirobu turned to look his wife in the eye, and was unsurprised to find nothing but love and support there. Mirobu steeled himself, squaring his shoulders as he turned back to the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, I beg you to allow my wife and I to adopt Naruto-kun and bring him into our family!" Mirobu exclaimed, even going the extra mile by going to his hands and knees with his forehead pressed to the top of his hands. The Hokage gazed down at Mirobu, with Miyuki sweating bullets as she and her husband awaited the Hokage's verdict. "No" was the Hokage's simple response. Mirobu lifted his head and fixed the Hokage with a dumbstruck expression.

"W-What? No? What do you mean, no!? Why not!?"Mirobu exploded. "He _needs_ someone! Anyone! What's wrong with this village!? Why isn't he cared for already!?" Mirobu hopped to his feet, fire in his eyes. Miyuki rushed to her husband's side and grabbed his hands forcing him to calm down. They then felt a terrible, oppressive presence. Almost robotically, they swiveled their heads towards the Hokage.

"I appreciate your fervor on Naruto-kun's behalf, but my answer remains 'no'" the Hokage replied firmly. The Kamiumi couple flinched, knowing that their lives' rested in the hands of the man Mirobu just erupted at.

"I understand Hokage-sama, and I apologize for my rudeness" Mirobu said, bowing deeply at the waist. "Please forgive me, and my family" The oppressive presence lifted. Mirobu remained in this position and was shocked to feel a hand lightly place itself on the back of his head.

"Please rise, Mirobu-san" the Hokage said. "You are an honorable man, but there are larger concerns at work when it comes to Naruto-kun" he said with a hint of sadness. Mirobu and Miyuki were shocked to say the least. "I-I-I'm sorry Hokage-sama, I just want the best for Naruto-kun. If we can't adopt him, can we at least look after him while we are in town? Why is he not cared for like he should be? Is there no more room in the orphanages?" Mirobu questioned. Hiruzen's face tightened almost imperceptibly for a second.

"It's complicated… But I would count it as a personal favor if you would look after Naruto-kun while you were here. I can already tell that your family has had a wonderful effect on him" the Hokage paused for a moment. He looked behind him and an ANBU appeared at his side. He whispered into the ANBU's ear for moment, the ANBU nodded and shunshined away. The Hokage then turned back to the apprehensive Kamiumis. Sipping his tea, the Hokage nodded to Miyuki.

"This is excellent, my lady. You are truly talented" he complimented.

"Th-Thank you Hokage-sama! I am just happy that you enjoy it!" Miyuki gushed, a heavy blush adorning her face.

"Hokage-sama… I hate to say this, but I... we…" Mirobu started. The Hokage cut him off.

"You're leaving soon. The caravan has to head up out at the end of the month, correct?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I'm sorry" Mirobu replied with a hangdog expression.

deserves it…" he then muttered. The Kamiumi couple caught it though, and it just added to the list of inconsistencies about their new favorite blonde.

"Ano, can you tell me how old he is, Hokage-sama? For some reason he doesn't seem to know…" Mirobu queried quietly. Anguished rage flashed across the Hokage's face for a moment before he quickly schooled it to stillness. "He is five... yesterday. Yesterday was his birthday." the Kamiumis were shocked, and could hear the obvious sorrow in the Hokage's voice.

"H-His BIRTHDAY!?" Miyuki said, a hand flying to her mouth. The Hokage flinched at the accusatory tone of her voice. Surprising the two males present, she brought her hand down onto the table with a resounding CRACK! "Well, that's it then. That settles it." Miyuki declared firmly, standing with a fist cocked in front of her. The Hokage actually looked a little nervous as he gazed into the determined eyes of Miyuki. Only to face-palm as a beatific smile crossed her face as she said "I'll just have to bake him a cake, then!" Mirobu simply chuckled as he caught the gaze of the stunned Hokage. "You get used to it Hokage-sama" he said simply, calmly sipping his tea. The trio then settled into comfortable conversation, waiting for the children to return.

"It has been a pleasure, thank you for your hospitality" the Hokage remarked as he stepped out of the Kamiumi's wagon. The Kamiumi couple responded by bowing deeply at the waist. "We are honored, Hokage-sama. Thank you for gracing our simple home with your presence" Miyuki said. "Please return anytime" Mirobu added. The Hokage inclined his head to them with a benign smile. The ANBU he spoke to inside earlier appeared at his side on one knee, startling the Kamiumi family. He silently handed a scroll to the Hokage and disappeared. Naruto looked up at the Kamiumis with a smirk, already used to the habits of the ANBU.

"This scroll exempts you from any import taxes while selling in Konoha. Also, should you ever require a shinobi escort, we will provide one with a small discount. Just a small one though, my ninjas still have to eat" the Hokage joked. Mirobu was shocked. Just the tax exemption alone was a huge boon to the merchant. He took the scroll reverently and again bowed deeply at the waist.

"Thank you very much, Hokage-sama. I don't deserve this, but thank you" Mirobu said gratefully.

"Not at all, I just wanted to thank you for helping out Naruto-kun" the Hokage replied. He then turned at smiled down at his surrogate grandson. "Naruto-kun, can you stop by the Tower tomorrow, please?"

"Sure jiji! See then!" Naruto said exuberantly.

Chuckling the Hokage took his leave, waving to the Naruto and the Kamiumis. The sight of the four of them waving back happily brought a bittersweet smile to his face. He would have loved for a civilian family to step up and adopt Naruto, but they would have to remain in Konoha. The merchant train the Kamiumi's were a part of traveled too far and too often, though. Not to mention they traded along the borders of both Iwa and Kumo. Two countries extremely dangerous to Naruto, especially the former. He glanced to the ANBU ghosting along to his left.

"Is the other matter taken care of?" the Hokage asked his shadow.

"Yes sir, Hokage-sama. That bald wretch will barely look in Naruto's general direction now" the ANBU replied. All of sudden, the Hokage could just _feel_ the man break into a wide grin behind his mask. "I told Neko-san what he did, then just stood back and watched" the ANBU clarified. A mirthless smirk stretched across the Hokage's face.

"That's almost too mean, Hawk-san" the Hokage said slyly "Almost." He knew his cat-masked agent was one of a few of his agents with a strong protective streak when it came to the small blonde. His eyes flickered to Inu scouting the roofs above as his Hokage walked back to the Tower. Hiruzen had had to restrain him last night, when they found out about Naruto's true living conditions. Inu was going to kill that idiot landlord on the spot. But, now that issue had been resolved and the Hokage personally owned the building. At least he could fix this one injustice aimed at Naruto.

" _One down, only a few thousand to go"_ the Hokage thought dejectedly.

 **KONOHA- HOKAGE TOWER, NEXT MORNING**

The Hokage stood at the window is his office, staring out over the village under his care. One particular inhabitant was at the forefront of his thoughts. He had been very briefly tempted to say yes to the Kamiumi's offer. But it would have put all of them, and especially Naruto, in untold amounts of danger. If the word got out that a jinchuuriki was on the loose, wandering about with civilians of all things, it would be a feeding frenzy. Not to mention if anyone from Iwa or Kumo got a good look at him. He looked more like Minato-kun every day. Plus, it might be a slight bit of jealousy on his part, but the Hokage didn't fully trust that they had become so like a normal family so quickly. So willing to take the boy after just one night.

The Hokage sighed as he sat at his desk, glaring at the stack of paperwork his secretary had dropped on him. His mind flashed through a half dozen low-level fire jutsus, wondering which he ones he could use on the stack, without damaging his desk. His fingers had just started to twitch as he had settled on a jutsu he'd gamble with, when the door banged open and Naruto walked in.

"Hey jiji! What's up?" said the grinning blonde. The Hokage was pleased to note that Naruto seemed in fine spirits today, likely an effect of being around the Kamiumis all day yesterday. All of a sudden, one of his personal guard flashed into being next to the boy. Neko kneeled down and pulled him into a hug. Naruto yelped in surprise before accepting the embrace, then yelped again when knuckles met scalp.

"Do you how much you scared us Naruto?" Neko scolded, fists on hips "We looked for you all night!"

"Sorry Neko-nee chan! I was just looking to hide from the festival, I didn't want to worry you guys. I'm really sorry. Thanks for looking though!" Naruto ginned, putting his hands behind his head sheepishly. The Hokage and the four ANBU in the room stiffened at Naruto nonchalantly announcing he needed to hide from the Kyuubi Defeat Festival. Neko's breath hitched and her arms went slack at her sides.

Naruto looked up at her, worried she was still mad. "I won't do it again, ok?"

"I'm just glad you're alright" Neko said. She then bopped him lightly on the head "No more disappearing acts though, understood?" she asked as she ghosted back to her position behind the Hokage. "I can't take another..." she whispered, though no one caught it. The Hokage took a moment to regain his own composure.

"Well Naruto-kun, there is a couple things I wanted to discuss with you if you have the time" the Hokage started. "First off, I want you to be indoors in your apartment every night. _Every night_ , am I understood? The only exception is if you are invited to sleep over somewhere as a guest. Like at the Kamiumi's for example. No more living on the streets" the Hokage ordered firmly, his steel grey eyes pinning the young boy. Naruto gulped and nodded nervously. The Hokage's face softened.

"Good Naruto-kun. I've already taken care of the problem with your apartment, but if anything else comes up you let me know, alright?" the Hokage didn't miss the flash of rebellion that rippled across Naruto's face when he mentioned that he had taken care of Naruto's problem.

"Listen Naruto-kun, at times it's good to be strong, other times it's good to be smart and ask for help." The Hokage gazed down at the jinchuuriki with a frim, but compassionate gaze. Naruto met that gaze defiantly for a moment before huffing out loudly in defeat.

"Ok jiji, whatever you say" he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he pouted. The Hokage smirked at that, but decided to move onto the next point.

"Next, I want to ask you a question. What do you want to be when you're older?" the Hokage asked. Naruto was thrown for loop by the question. Of all the things he expected the Hokage to ask, this obviously wasn't one of them. But he only needed a moment to answer

"I'm going to be the Hokage, dattebayo! I'm going to protect all my precious people and this village they call home!" Naruto exclaimed punching a fist in the air. His reaction brought a smile to all present.

"I'm going to make everyone finally acknowledge me, and see who I really am!" Naruto declared with a broad grin and his right hand extended in a thumb's up. The five other occupants in the room felt their smiles dim and their hearts sink a little at that. The Hokage recovered quickly though.

"Well good Naruto, I'm proud of you. I can see that you will be a fine shinobi, and that the Will of Fire will burn brightly within you. To be honest, I expected you to say something like that. Since that means you're going to enter the ninja academy, I thought you should get a little head start on what you'll be doing there" the Hokage stated. Naruto's eyes shone and he ran up to the desk excitedly.

"Really, jiji!? You mean it?" there were practically stars in his eyes. The Hokage chuckled and ruffled his surrogate grandson's hair.

"Of course I mean it, Naruto-kun. I'm going to have you trained as much as you can handle before you enter the Academy. First off, though, you will see Chohiku- san from the Academy. She's a physical therapist and nutrition specialist, so she can help you get started." The Hokage reached into his desk and took out a scroll, handing it to Naruto. "This is for her or any teachers that stop you, to answer any questions. Just go to the Academy and ask to go to the nurse's office. She should be there most of the day."

"Yatta!" Naruto exclaimed, punching his fist the air "I'm going to be Hokage for sure! Hold on that hat old man, I'm coming to take it soon, dattebayo!" Naruto declared before dashing out of the room excitedly. Hiruzen chuckled, as he always enjoyed seeing Naruto in fine spirits. He reached for the intercom to talk to his secretary. "Please ask Inoichi-san, Choza-san, and Shikaku-san to come see me at their earliest convenience, please. Thank you." The Hokage sat back in his chair steepling his fingers in thought.

" _It's time to see if this little experiment I thought up last night will work. I'm sure that enough time has passed so that he will able to interact with the clan heirs. Luckily, there are several his age, and if I make the offer to all the clans, there is no show of favoritism. I hope"_ the Hokage thought to himself. He fervently hoped that the clan children would be given a chance to form bonds with Naruto, something he desperately needed.

He knew he was gambling, though. He knew that the claim of one clan or another trying to make the "village's hidden weapon" loyal to their clan above the others could cause friction and division. But he also hoped that at least some of the clansmen would see Naruto as more than just a jinchuuriki, and see him as the bright, rambunctious boy he loved.

What if he hadn't found Naruto that morning? What if the Kamiumi's had asked to him come with them and just left? Would he have gone? The Hokage really wanted to believe that he wouldn't, but honestly couldn't blame the neglected orphan if he had. The only people who treated Naruto with any kindness were himself, his secretary, a few ANBU, and that ramen chef and his daughter that moved to Konoha last year. A handful of people to outweigh the collected scorn and malice of the entire village. Not a smart gamble. Hell, Tsunade-chan wouldn't touch that one! And his wayward student gambled on anything!

The final push for the Hokage taking this risk was the thought of his old rival, Danzo, getting his hands on Naruto if he left the village. The thought of the life being driven from those mischievous blue eyes, of Naruto fading away to be replaced by a puppet imposter in his body... That was all that was needed for the Hokage to risk making relations between the clans a little more rocky. Besides, the Uchihas were already doing their level best to do that on their own, and the village still stood.

The Hokage was brought out of his musings by a knock on the door. "Enter" The door opened to reveal Inoichi and Choza, a… hefty looking man with long, spiky red hair and purple clan markings on his cheeks. He wore a light armor set patterned after the samurai, with the kanji for "food" written on the breastplate. The Hokage looked up in confusion. "Where is Shikaku-san?" he questioned. Inoichi gave him a dry look "You said 'at his earliest convenience' Hokage-sama. He could show up next week in all honesty" Inoichi smirked. The Hokage face-palmed at his Commander's legendary lethargy.

"Such little respect, I feel so underappreciated. Maybe I should go home and take a nap…" the laid back voice of Konoha's jounin commander drifted in, as he strolled through the doors. The Hokage straightened and fixed the three Clan Heads with a piercing look. Shikaku even snapped to attention, sensing his leader's seriousness. "I wish to talk to you three of a matter of great import to the security of this village. Our jinchuuriki. He needs bonds. He needs reasons to stay loyal to this village or he will end up rejecting everybody and going rogue, like Han from Iwa" the Hokage stated seriously. He now had all three's undivided attention.

"I have a plan, a way to avoid this" the Hokage continued "and it involves all of you. I plan to introduce Naruto-kun to the clans. I feel that you three would be the best starting point. I also trust that you won't be biased towards Naruto-kun because of his _tenant_ " the Hokage put special emphasis on this last word, along with a hard gaze to all three that made them gulp audibly.

"No, Hokage-sama!" the Ino-Shika-Cho trio replied. The Hokage nodded. "Thank you, my friends. I plan on having Naruto-kun getting tutelage from as many sources as I can. Who wants to host him first?" Hiruzen questioned. The trio looked at each other, communicating without words due to their long time association. Choza spoke up "How about we all introduce him to our clans at a big bar-be-que?"

"That's brilliant" Shikaku then spoke up "it makes it much less obvious, and a great deal more fun for the kids."

The Hokage smiled, "Very good, Choza-san. Let's go with that. I will entrust all the details to you, dismissed." Inoichi, Choza, and Shikaku filed out of the office and left to set up for Naruto's big shindig.

Back at the Kamiumi's wagon, Mirobu was deep in thought as he considered the puzzle that was Naruto Uzumaki. He had asked around town trying to get more information to work with. That had only made him more confused. Confused and angry. The villagers responded to his inquiries by warning him away from the "demon child". That he would corrupt his family, and that Midori wasn't safe around him. Many literally spat on the ground as soon as his name was mentioned. As if just hearing it left a bad taste in their mouth.

He at least made some headway into the fact that Konoha had a blonde Uzumaki. A storeowner told him that the last Uzumaki in Konoha was a powerful and popular kunoichi. She was killed helping the Fourth Hokage, and Naruto was given her last name to honor her. Mirobu was disappointed that Naruto wasn't an Uzumaki, but it felt off to him to give a random orphan the clan name of a local hero.

What made Mirobu so thoughtful was the drunk he had talked to. He had said how the Fourth Hokage had "kicked that little demon's ass" and was why they had a "bitchin' festival" every October 10th. That they should "use the festival to finish the demon off, once and for all". The pieces were there, he could feel it. The fact the festival was held on Naruto's birthday couldn't be a coincidence. The fact he was named after Kushina Uzumaki.

Mirobu jerked in surprise. Kushina. Kushina died helping the Fourth Hokage! They both had died while… while battling the Kyuubi! That was it! All the pieces fell neatly into place. It was the only explanation. Why the festival was on Naruto's birthday. Why he was named to honor Kushina. Why there was so much hatred and scorn from the village. Why he was shunned like a leper. And, finally why the Hokage was so desperate to know his location when he went missing.

Mirobu felt like he had been punched in the gut. Naruto. Little Naruto. Kind, fun loving Naruto a jinchuuriki. Mirobu couldn't believe it, but nothing else made sense. Suddenly he dashed over to his writing cubicle and ripped the folding desk down so hard, he almost ripped from the wall.

They have to know about this! He would have to get an emergency message out through his contacts. The fact that Naruto was a jinchuuriki was a big deal, but Mirobu had a sneaking suspicion that the Uzumaki story was a lie too. He hoped this wouldn't cause trouble for Naruto, but he had a job to do.

XXXXXX

A/N

And that's it people! Thank you for sticking with me through a long first chapter, but honestly I think they'll all be around 10k words. I also wanted to bring up why no one seemed to react to Naruto having the surname of one of the founding clans of Konoha. So I threw in that bit about honoring Kushina. I hope you enjoyed it, any and all feedback is appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello all, hope everyone is having a great Halloween! I'm currently holed up in my house, hiding from the voracious crib lizards roaming my neighborhood, looking for their free diabetes starter kits. Which did jumpstart my writing though, so here's a new chapter a couple days early.**

 ***DISCLAIMER- I DON'T OWN NARUTO*- It's Kishimoto's sandbox, I'm just making crappy sandcastles.**

 **LAND OF RICE- SANCTUARY- OFF THE SOUTHERN COAST OF FIRE COUNTRY**

The early morning light broke through the trees, illuminating a rustic two story dwelling on a hill. The hill overlooked a moderately sized fishing village on the southwestern coast of Rice Country. Rice is a small country, mostly unnoticed by its intimidating neighbors Land of Fire to the north, and Land of Water to the northeast. Its small, but growing economy is overshadowed by the larger merchant country, Land of Tea, to the west. Rice is primarily an agricultural country, the interior on both of the main islands in the nation being planted with its namesake, and the coastlines were dotted with fishing villages.

Rice country began to change when a bedraggled group of refugees made landfall at the larger northern island. The people of Rice are a kind, humble people who were happy to help get the refugees back on their feet. The Uzumaki refugees were very grateful. Once they established a small settlement on the smaller southern island, the Uzumaki sent back a yearly gift of fish, pearls, and sea salt to the village that had helped them. Their ships cannibalized for raw materials, the settlement, Sanctuary, took two difficult years to get on its feet.

Ashara Uzumaki stood gazing out the bay window on the second story of his modest home. This day would normally be the day he sent his gifts to that generous village, Landfall. But after 15 years, Landfall's grateful Headman had arrived yesterday, and said that the Uzumaki's debt was paid in full. The Uzumaki's tribute had doubled the size of the then unnamed village.

The Uzumaki had chosen wisely, as there were many oyster beds with juicy oysters hiding big, fat pearls at Sanctuary. Aside from the abundant fishing, the Uzumakis had developed a way to mass produce sea salt as a luxury food item. The sea salt tasted better than mined salt, and was popular with well-known chefs. Very trendy with many daimyos at present. Not to mention the benefit of ample amounts of fresh water reclaimed from the evaporation process.

However, the escape from Uzushio had still cost the Uzumaki clan dearly. When the survivors had made it to the evacuation ships, Ashara was horrified when he realized they only needed a third of the waiting ships. He had grimly ordered that the supplies on the extra ships be off- loaded as quickly as possible, then destroyed those ships. He made sure to have any who could, use as many differing chakra natured attacks as he could find.

He had held out the thin hope that the Coalition would think that it's forces had successfully massacred all the civilians, and destroyed the ships. The idea that they had been ambushed and destroyed _after_ completing their mission was a stretch, but the fuinjutsu traps in Uzushio had claimed many Coalition lives before then.

This day always made him contemplative, every year. He wondered if Iwa or Kumo still had any feelers out, looking for them. He didn't worry so much about Kiri, as it seemed Kiri would be descending into civil war in the next year or two. He wondered about what had happened to his youngest niece, Kushina, sacrificed to Konoha as a jinchuuriki. He hadn't heard anything from her, but the world did think the Uzumaki were dead.

He wondered about the ships lost in the sudden storm that had sprung up and surprised the small fleet, just as it had rounded the tip of the Land of Waves peninsula. The evacuation fleet had been sailing at night to throw off pursuit and gain as much distance from Uzushiogakure as they could. This made keeping the fleet together impossible as the storm raged, and they lost another third of their ships.

Ashara growled when he thought about the confirmed fate of one ship. That ship had managed to make landfall in Wave, but were immediately set upon by pirates. The exhausted crew put up a futile, meager defense, but all aboard were captured easily. The pirates then promptly sold them all into "indentured servitude", as slavery is technically illegal. The Uzumaki have been sending what ninjas they could out into the world ever since, trying to find hints of their wayward brethren.

The last 17 years had taken a toll on Ashara. His hair was now completely white and he had accumulated an impressive amount of wrinkles. Mostly around his eyes from reading reports until late into the night. His guards told him to take it easy at times, but they knew the stubborn Clan Head would still work himself into the ground regardless.

Ashara turned when he heard a respectful knock at the door. Shaking himself from his dark thoughts, Ashara sat down at his desk that was made from planks of his former flagship. "Enter" he called.

The door opened to admit a small, middle-aged man in a tasteful business suit. He had a thin mustache, and his short, dark hair was parted down the middle. With his round, wire frame glasses, he looked like the quintessential accountant, or bank manager.

"Ah, Toshi" Ashara said warmly "please, come in. Have a seat." Toshi nodded and sat in one of the chairs arranged in front of the desk. "What can I do for the Namikaze family today?" Ashara asked. "Well, there are several items I must bring to your attention, Ashara-sama." Toshi had a deep, cultured voice that was surprising for his small frame, which barely topped five feet. Ashara waved for him to continue. Toshi nodded as he opened the folder he had brought with him.

"Most importantly, these are the latest scouting reports from the search parties in the Sakuru Sea. I believe they have found a good spot for your hidden village. Inside a chain of atolls, they found a volcanic island. It is actually a very fortuitous find." Ashara was a bit surprised by the excitement in Toshi's voice. He was normally a very reserved man. Ashara simply waved his hand for Toshi to continue.

"The reefs form a natural barrier, and it took the scout team quite a while to find a way through. I'm told they needed extensive use of the rebreather seal. An excellent invention that, Ashara-sama." Toshi said. Ashara leaned back in his chair, smiling. His protégé (and fuinjutsu addict), Ryuusuke had come up with that seal after extensive study of fish gills. The ability to breath underwater was a huge boon for their fishing and pearl diving industries.

"After finding a safe path for the ship, they found that the island was dormant and safe." Toshi continued.

"Are you certain? No magma activity, what so ever?" Ashara questioned.

"None my lord, this team luckily had a ninja with a strong Doton affinity. He delved as deep as he could. He reported he felt no activity at all." Toshi said with a satisfied grin. "Furthermore this volcano is very large, with lava tubes formed both above and below sea level. The caldera is sunk deep underwater creating a natural bay _inside_ the volcano. What's more, a rather large lava tube extends underwater and connects with that bay." Toshi's grin was getting infectious as Ashara saw were this was going.

"That is not even the best part my lord. There is a significant amount of volcanic soil above sea level, which we can expand by sealing some lava tubes and pumping out the water." Toshi finished triumphantly.

Ashara was speechless, this was perfect! Natural defenses both with the reef and the exterior of the volcano, as well as a preformed bay that connected to an underwater entrance. He would have to put Ryuusuke, and possibly his brother Kennosuke, to work on seals that would grant them passage via that route. And to top it all off, to have fields with volcanic soil! The best possible soil to work with, bar none! Ashara could see what had got Toshi so excited.

"Excellent, my friend, excellent! Recall the other search teams immediately and get all available Doton users and engineers over there as soon as possible. I want the construction of Himitsugakure started yesterday!" Ashara ordered. As always, Toshi smirked at his friend's dry humor. Only he would a name a hidden village, The Village Hidden In Secret. Of course, the Uzumaki clan and their vassal civilian families would do their best to have it remain hidden in secret for as long as possible.

Toshi was happy to see Ashara's spirits lifted, the man tended to brood too deeply when this day came around. Toshi remembered all too well what the Namikaze family owed to the Uzumakis. As the official head of the Namikaze family, Toshi did as much as he could to help them. The Namikaze family had been the first to be evacuated from Uzushio, and they had been lucky enough to be on the ships that made it to Landfall.

Once they got over the shock of Uzushio's downfall, the civilians realized just how much the Uzu shinobi had sacrificed for them. They had gathered together, and had all asked to be absorbed into the Uzumaki clan. Ashara had graciously accepted, even finding potential shinobi for the small "Academy" being built in Sanctuary. The only two families he refused were the largest, and what used to be the largest, the Namikaze and the Hiyafuda respectively.

When he refused them, Ashara had been quick to explain. To the Hiyafuda family head, Jumonji, Ashara said he felt that the Hiyafuda name needed to be honored and remembered. The Hiyafuda had volunteered to be evacuated last, taking heavy losses in the ambush. Ashara had even seen civilian Hiyafudas picking up weapons and fighting back. Plus, two ships carrying many Hiyafudas were in the fleet vanguard when the storm hit, and were lost at sea. Ashara had said that they had sacrificed enough, and that they needn't sacrifice their name. Jumonji had never looked prouder, and that magnanimous gesture had earned Ashara the undying loyalty of that clan.

Turning to the man that would become his chief advisor, Ashara then spoke to Toshi Namikaze. The Namikaze were a shrewd and prosperous merchant family with connections throughout the Elemental Nations. They had been the driving force behind Uzushiogakure's economy. Ashara was going to lean on those ties heavily to rebuild his clan's wealth, and improve the quality of life in the Land of Rice. The Namikazes had always had strong ties to the Uzumakis, even though there was a large amount of extended family in Fire country as well. They would become the backbone in building the merchant fleet that was now slowly giving Rice the ability to challenge Tea for economic supremacy in the Sakuru Sea.

The merchant fleet was even now extending its range all along the eastern coast of the Tea peninsula, reaching as far south as Sea Country and Sakura Country. They did not dare to venture north just yet. Kiri was too close for that, and there were rumblings of economic strife coming out of Wave.

Toshi shook himself out his reverie. " _Honestly, I'm getting to be as bad as Ashara-sama"_ he thought. Reaching into his folder, Toshi pulled out the next stack.

"The second item concerns your student, Ryuusuke. He believes that the first phase of his mission is complete and wishes to visit Sanctuary. He believes that he can launch the second phase at any time" Toshi reported. "Eh, finally sick of those sea rats, is he? How long has it been, 2 years?" Ashara chuckled. "Three, my lord" Toshi corrected, then a grin came and went on his face.

"I assume Hidoki would be happy to see him…" Toshi said slyly. He was surprised when Ashara's face drew down into a worried frown.

"I'm not so sure about that. The sudden departure of Ryuusuke was his choice, not mine. He came in here begging for a long term mission. Apparently, he and Hidoki had a falling out and he couldn't stand being snubbed by her. This is not a big enough village for them to avoid each other" Ashara said solemnly. Toshi was very surprised, he had seen Hidoki upset after Ryuusuke left, but he had assumed it was because she missed her childhood friend. But before, he could ask further, Ashara clapped his hands as if to bring himself back on track. "Alright, what's next?"

Toshi let the matter drop, he wasn't going to pry into another's personal affairs. "Next, my lord, are the quarterly fishing yields…" Ashara sighed. How he loathed paperwork…

 **KONOHA- CLAN DISTRICT- OCTOBER 16** **TH**

Naruto walked slowly behind his dog masked ANBU protector, Inu, as they made their way towards the Akimichi compound. He never expected this when Hokage-jiji asked him to come to the Tower this morning. Naruto didn't quite know how to feel. He felt hope rise within him when he thought about what jiji told him.

" _Naruto-kun, I have some friends who wanted me to invite you to a BBQ. They wanted to introduce you to some children of theirs, and see if you would like to be friends with them. How does that sound?"_ How did that sound? It _sounded_ great. Naruto ruthlessly squashed the hope back down. He had been down this road too many times. For the past two years, a heartrending rollercoaster of emotion would happen time and time again. He would sneak past the parents at the local playground, and start playing with other kids. Until the parents noticed, he would be having fun. It wasn't always easy to join this group or another, but his natural cheer and exuberance usually won out. He was very popular when it came to playing Ninja, due to his (forcibly) increased stealth abilities. He would be happy. And then, the inevitable would occur.

Even if he managed to say goodbye to whatever new friend he had made without their parent(s) noticing, eventually he was found out. The child would be yanked away from Naruto and warned to stay away from him. Usually while still within earshot of Naruto. The hope of finally making a friend was to be dashed again. The happiness that Naruto had got to taste would shrivel up and turn to ash. He couldn't help but repeat this cycle again and again, even though part of him knew what would happen.

He really wished the Kamiumis weren't busy today. He wished Midori, at least, could've come. But they still had jobs to do, even Midori had chores. They had responsibilities to the merchant caravan, and they had put them off while trying to spend as much time as possible with Naruto.

But, if they could be nice to Naruto, others could be, right? Then Naruto jerked as he realized that the Kamiumis weren't from here. He had seen villagers coming up to Mirobu and Miyuki yesterday, obviously talking about him, based on the looks they gave him… Oh no, what if they were just saying they had to work as an excuse? Was it the same rollercoaster all over again? Miyuki-oba was so kind, she wouldn't take Midori away from him, right? But the villagers had talked to her and then she said Midori couldn't come out to play today.

Now Naruto had very mixed feelings. He just knew that the same thing would happen again. But the Hokage had said that the parents were the ones who had invited him. But usually no one would let their child near him. But Hokage-jiji wouldn't set him up, would he? But maybe they lied to jiji, and this is a trick. But jiji is called "The Professor" and he's Hokage, and the Hokage's the smartest in the village. But villagers did stuff all the time to him, and jiji would only find out later. But… Inu. Inu wouldn't lead him into a trap, would he? Inu was always nice to him, right?

Naruto's thoughts wouldn't stop chasing each other around and around. This was the most exhausting walk he had ever taken. He didn't notice Inu looking at him worriedly out of the corner of his mask's eyehole. Finally, Inu couldn't take seeing the warring emotions playing out on Naruto's face. He spun in front of Naruto and kneeled down to eyelevel. He had to put out a hand to keep the preoccupied boy from walking into him as Naruto looked up in surprise.

"I'm going to be with you the whole time, Naruto. I'm not letting you out of my sight, ok? You say the word, and we'll be out of there immediately. No questions asked. You understand?" Inu reassured Naruto.

Naruto wrung his hands in a very uncharacteristic display of nervous indecision. The warring of emotions across his face suddenly stopped, and was replaced by a look of determination. "You promise?" Naruto asked with just a slight waver in his voice. Inu held out his pinkie "I promise." Inwardly, he was very amused that the tough-as-nails, kenjutsu-loving, kunoichi badass Neko had taught Naruto the "pinkie swear promise". But he was also relieved to see how seriously Naruto took it based on how firmly he wrapped his pinkie around Inu's.

Inu was glad that Naruto was back to… well closer to his usual self. Seeing Naruto wring his hands had more been disturbing than he would've anticipated. Inu was worried just how much pain Naruto was repressing, and was amazed at the cheerful demeanor he maintained despite it. Not giving Naruto, or himself, time to slide back into dark thoughts he stood up and started back towards the Akimichi's. Inspiration struck him and he grabbed Naruto. With a surprised yelp, Naruto found himself riding on Inu's shoulders. Inu's silver hair being grabbed roughly was a small price to pay for the shriek of laughter that followed.

Before Naruto knew it he was walking through a wide open double door gate. On the walls next to the gate was the Akimichi clan symbol. Naruto quieted down when he noticed the noise of a large group of people. He tensed reflexively. Crowds weren't usually good things for one Naruto Uzumaki. Inu felt his legs tighten on his neck, and could guess why. He kneeled down and helped Naruto to the ground.

"I'm right here. The whole time" he said, holding up his pinkie.

Naruto visibly calmed down and became more confident. _"Kami bless you Neko"_ "Yosh! Let's not keep them waiting Naruto" Inu said in an upbeat manner. Naruto just nodded, his gaze fixed on the group of people milling together out on a beautiful open meadow to the left of the clan buildings. The adults were chatting amicably over by a set of large wooden banquet tables. Next to them, were a trio of impressively sized BBQ pits. They hadn't yet noticed Naruto or Inu.

As they got closer, Naruto could see the smaller forms of laughing children running around in the meadow. When they walked by a tree, Naruto immediately noticed a rather… large boy trying valiantly to climb up and hide in its branches. Without thinking, Naruto walked over and gave him a boost. The boy almost flew over the branch, catching himself just in time.

"Hey, playing Ninja?" Naruto asked. The boy just nodded, surprised at the assist. "Ok, well you should hug the trunk tighter and move to your left, you'll be hidden in the shadows better" Naruto helpfully informed him. "Oh, uh thanks" the boy replied, still somewhat confused. "No problem" Naruto cheerfully waved and continued on with an amused Inu.

But Naruto's cheer dimmed as he realized Inu was leading him towards the tables. Tables filled with adults. Two women noticed them and broke off their conversation. As they walked over, Naruto froze up until he felt Inu's hand on his shoulder. Naruto relaxed some, then relaxed even more when the women actually _smiled_ at him. The knot in his stomach that had started to form when he first thought the Kamiumis would abandon him finally loosened. Maybe this was the beginning of the end of all those angry glares, and false hopes for friendship.

The two women greeted them warmly and directed them to a full figured woman standing by one of the BBQ pits. She was wearing tan pants, heeled sandals, a high-collared purple blouse with the kanji for food on the back, and an apron. Wielding a wooden spoon with deadly efficiency, she was fending off four large, and obviously hungry men. The men all had spiky, red hair and clan markings, making it easy to see they were related.

Naruto was a little intimidated by the woman (Inu too, though he would never admit it) as she protected her pork ribs and beef briskets from their drooling attackers. She spotted the two, and waved them over with an inviting smile. As they approached, Naruto could see the kindness in her dark eyes.

"So, our guest of honor has arrived!" She said cheerfully. Without looking she smacked an errant hand about to snatch some ribs. "I'm so glad 'thwack' to meet you Uzumaki-san 'smack'. I'm Chiyumi Akimichi 'crack' and I'm happy to welcome you to our home 'slap'" Chiyumi greeted him warmly. Suddenly, she spun and four distinct thumps were heard. The four redheads now sat on the ground nursing their aching heads.

"I told you to wait until everyone can eat" she admonished them. She then turned to smile at Naruto. "Now that you're here, we can! Are you hungry Naruto-san?" she asked. Naruto nodded quickly, afraid to say no. "Great! Find a seat, while I gather everybody up" Chiyumi said as she ushered him to a table.

"Choza dear, can you fetch everybody for lunch, please?" Chiyumi called to a large man in red plate armor. He turned and gave a hearty smile with a thumb's up. Naruto was amazed as he flashed through some hand seals and grew to the size of a giant! Naruto was now the same height as one of his toes! "Hey everybody! Come eat!" Choza boomed out. People appeared from every direction and the tables were engulfed in talking, laughing people. The Akimichi clan was a very boisterous, BBQ loving clan. Throw in the Yamanakas, who were pretty loud themselves, and it made quite a racket. Naruto had been sat next to the quiet boy from the tree, who had been introduced as Choji, with the boy's father Choza to Naruto's left. Apparently, the boy wasn't quiet when it came to food though.

Across from him were two large men also dressed in plate armor, fighting over a brisket. A couple Yamanakas down the table a bit then challenged a few Naras to a drinking game. For this game you had to sing a drinking song where you drank at the end of every verse. Your opponent then repeated the last verse and added to it each time. Needless to say, it was quite a raucous event.

Which was very difficult for Naruto. To the shunned orphan, any gathering or crowd meant jeers and insults at best, pain and suffering at worst. The result being, Naruto developed a moderate case of agoraphobia. The fact that he was surrounded by large men, who he now knew could grow even larger, and the unexpected raucousness made his breathing quicken. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he felt trapped.

Desperately, he spun in his seat, looking for Inu. When he didn't immediately see him, he started to panic. He jolted as Choza started to bang his fist on the table, spitting bits of food laughing at some jest. Hyperventilating now, Naruto clutched a hand to his chest. He jumped when the boy next to him hopped on the bench's seat, reaching across Naruto to grab a pork rib on his other side. Naruto's control broke. "INU!" he screamed. He jumped off the bench and tore off in a random direction, crying for Inu. The tables went dead quiet as the party goers watched Inu collect Naruto and shunshin away.

Shock reigned as nobody understood what had happened. They simply looked at each other, dumbstruck. The general thinking was mostly summed up when Shikaku muttered "well… shit".

 **LATER THAT DAY- HOKAGE'S OFFICE**

"What happened?" the Hokage asked stonily, his eyes hard on the three nervous men in front of his desk. The three audibly gulped and, instinctively, Choza and Inoichi simultaneously looked to Shikaku to explain. "Troublesome" Shikaku muttered. He squared his shoulders and looked the Hokage in the eye. "It was my fault, Hokage-sama. It's clear now I should have taken the possibility of Naruto being agoraphobic into account. I apologize" he said firmly. The Hokage then sighed out in frustration. "No Shikaku-san, no one is to blame. I will simply have to find another way to ease Naruto into this. I believe it will take longer than I had anticipated" the Hokage stated remorsefully.

The truth was he had simply wanted to take his anger out on someone. Inu had returned just a short while ago, after calming Naruto down and treating him to ramen to help him get over his episode. When Inu relayed the details to Hiruzen, he had overreacted, summoning the three clan heads. But, now that they were in front of him, Hiruzen realized that the only person he could blame was himself. " _How could I have let things go this far? How has it spiraled so far so quickly? How can I make this up to Naruto-kun?"_ Hiruzen thought in anguish.

The three men stayed quiet, sensing their leader's introspective mood. In truth, they felt guilty as well. Even though it was an accident, they had caused the traumatized boy pain. All three were just starting to realize how badly the boy had been abandoned by the clans, and by the village. All for doing the heroic duty of keeping the village safe from the largest threat it had ever faced.

Inoichi suddenly spoke up. "Hokage-sama, I know I've caught glimpses of Naruto in the park over by the southwestern corner of the village." "Yes, that park is just north of his home" the Hokage replied. Hiruzen didn't miss the quick look the three shared when he admitted that.

The only residential area south of that park was considered to be the slums. It was a residential area tucked as far from the Tower and the city center as it could be. Dive bars, brothels, pawn shops, loan sharks, and black market stalls called that area home. The area was tolerated somewhat as it condensed all the lowlifes into one heavily policed region. No place for a 5 year old on his own.

The Hokage couldn't suppress a wince when they looked back at him. When he found Naruto after he was kicked out of the orphanage, Hiruzen had foolishly sent a chuunin to secure an apartment. While the Hokage took Naruto to the hospital for an examination, the chuunin just took the first place that didn't instantly refuse him when Naruto was mentioned. Signing an ironclad lease, heavily slanted in the landlord's favor, without even reading it first. That lazy chuunin was now a permanent genin, and assigned to solo Tora-catching missions once a month for life. But Naruto still lived in a shithole, located in a cesspool.

Forcing his guilt aside for the moment, the Hokage looked at Inoichi. "Did you have an idea regarding that?" he asked. "I do Hokage-sama, I can bring my Ino-chan to that park until we "run into" Naruto and I'm sure that my little princess would make friends with him quickly!" Inoichi said, beaming. The other three men just groaned inwardly, amazed at how much he doted on Ino.

But the Hokage did have to admit that is was a simple, solid plan. One that might work with the other clan heirs his age too. "Excellent Inoichi-san, do it" the Hokage replied. "For now, I am going to put the rotating tutor plan on hold until we can get Naruto-kun a bit more socialized. He needs to learn to be around people first. That is all for tonight. Thank you, you're dismissed" the Hokage said.

" _Kami its like I'm talking about an animal that has to learn how to be human…"_ Hiruzen thought sadly.

"Hai, Hokage-sama" the three men saluted and exited the office, each with their own plans to bring a little light into Naruto's life. Naruto's neglected existence that had been conveniently out-of-sight, out-of-mind was now placed front and center before them. They each promised themselves not to look away again.

While three introspective men were filing out of the Hokage's office, Naruto was leaning on the railing of his balcony staring out at the Hokage Monument. Naruto had calmed down and was grateful for Inu being kind enough to treat him to ramen. Inu had also went out of his way to not call Teuchi's or Ayame's attention to his fragile emotional state. Naruto was ashamed and angry at himself. What if he had just lost the one chance to make some real friends, in the village, with kids whose parents didn't hate him? He had wanted to ask Inu to take him back, but the words just wouldn't come. So, he just buried his disappointment in ramen.

Looking at the faces of whom he was determined to be his predecessors, Naruto thought over Hokage-jiji's words. " _Sometimes it's good to be strong. Other times it's good to be smart and ask for help."_ With an option to improve in front of him, Naruto couldn't maintain his uncharacteristic depression. Shaking his head quickly, he lightly smacked his cheeks and forcibly cheered himself up. " _Tomorrow's a new day! And maybe Midori-chan can come out and play!"_ Naruto fixated on that hope as he prepared himself for bed.

 **KONOHA- AN UNDERGROUND BUNKER**

"The weapon has been isolated?" A gravelly voiced asked. "Yes Danzo-sama, he is still very much on his own. I believe that we may be able to bring him to your side very soon" the Yamanaka ROOT agent said emotionlessly. "I have a plan to isolate him from the clans permanently" Fu declared. "Very good. Go then, and do not disappoint me" Danzo ordered. "At once Danzo-sama" Fu said before shunshining away.

 **MEANWHILE- IN THE LAND OF WAVES- TO THE EAST**

Whistling merrily, a young man walked down a dirt road towards the main shipping village of Nami no Kuni, the Land of Waves. Standing at 5' 10", 175 lbs., he had an athletic build, but he wasn't an overly imposing figure. He had on sturdy black boots, green cargo pants, and a grey T-shirt with mesh under armor that came to his elbows. His red hair was shaved on the sides and back, while the top was grown long and drawn tightly back into a scalp lock and pony tail that curved to the back of his neck. He was modestly armed with weapons pouches on his thighs, and a utility belt with a few scrolls hanging off it.

He smiled and waved to a passing group of farmers, who responded in kind. " _I may be stuck waiting for a while, but at least its pretty here_ " he thought to himself. He continued down into the shipping village and stopped at the first inn he saw. After booking a room, he decided to take a stroll and get the "lay of the land". He wandered around town for a bit, heading towards the docks since he enjoyed the ocean view. He was just about to head back to the inn, when he heard a commotion off to his right. Curious, he slipped into an alley, which emptied next to a large warehouse. He stopped dead at the mouth of the alley at the sight of three thugs forcing an obviously beaten man to his knees in the loading area in front of the warehouse.

"OI, what the hell is this!?" the redhead demanded. "Leave him be!"

The thugs looked up in surprise, then started laughing uproariously. "Clear off, you dumbass! You don't want to be here right now!" a scarred gravelly- voiced thug armed with a katana spat. "This is our town, scrub!"

"Yeah! Beat it!" a weaseley looking man next to him sneered. The man on his knees then looked up at the redheaded newcomer "I don't know who you are stranger, but I think you should do as he says. These dogs bite."

All of a sudden, an anguished yell could be heard from an adjoining building as two more thugs came out, dragging out a pretty brunette girl in a white home-spun dress. "Kajumi! **You BASTARDS!** " the man on his knees spat venomously. "Leave my daughter alone!" He started to rise when he caught the pommel of a katana to the face. As he sprawled out in the dirt, the thugs laughed viciously. "We're gonna have us some fun tonight, boys! Eh, Kajumi?" the apparent leader leered at the terrified girl.

All of a sudden, all five would-be rapists felt a distinct malevolence. Their heads swiveled comically to the redheaded man who was looking down, and whose fists were clenched so tightly, they were shaking. "So that's the kind of men you are." The thugs flinched at the steely tone of his voice, as the ambient temperature seemed to drop to freezing. He looked up, and all five took an involuntary step back. His cobalt blue eyes promised death and pain in equal measure. The redhead snapped his hands down the holsters at his thighs and withdrew three kunai for each hand.

The three by the kneeling man responded by lifting their own weapons, one a crude club fashioned from a board with nails in the end, and one had a decent tetsubo, while the leader brandished his katana threateningly. The two scum holding Kajumi pushed her over near her father, and each drew wicked looking knives. "Well, don't just sit there, pissing yourselves in fear. Let's do this!" the redhead spat. At this the thugs all snarled and started forward.

"You stupid little shit! You know who we are? We're part of the Redwater Teeth! All the docks is ours!" the leader yelled "We're gonna learn you to step in our territry! What you think about that?"

"I think you haven't been burdened with an overabundance of schooling" came the condescending reply. The thugs looked at each other confused, as if trying to confirm whether or not they were just insulted. "Arrgh, enough talk. Get him!" the leader ordered. All five charged down the alley.

The redhead smirked as waited for them to get closer. He then brought his arms in front of him in an X, with three kunai in each hand. He snapped his hands forward and launched the kunai. The thugs crouched and prepared to dodge. But they all widely missed their mark and embedded themselves into the walls of the alley.

"HA. Haha. What's this? The hero can't even throw straight!? HAHAHA! What the hell you thinking, boy, calling us out!?" the katana wielder laughed "KILL HIM!"

The thugs all stood and charged. The redhead simply smirked as the five brutes descended upon him. "Look away, Kajumi" he said, with a handsome smile in her direction. The blushing girl looked down at her feet, her arms crossed over her torso. He brought his fingers together and flashed through a set of hand seals. "Fuuton- Wire Murder no Jutsu!" He snapped his hands out wide in front of him as he activated his jutsu. Razor sharp blades of wind traveled between the wires he had slipped onto the kunai while baiting the dumb brutes. Everything in between his hands and the kunai was neatly dissected. The tang of blood, and the sound of meaty gristle smacking the ground filled the air.

The redhead immediately dropped the rings holding the wires and shunshinned to Kajumi's side. He gently gripped her chin in his hand and deftly turned her back on the carnage in the alley. "Are you alright? Did they harm you?" he questioned gently. The brightly blushing girl in his arms took a long moment for her brain to reboot.

"Y-Y-Yes! N-No! I mean, yes I-I'm fine, no they didn't hurt me! Thank you so much!" Kajumi gushed as she leaned into her rescuer's chest. "What's your name?" Kajumi asked shyly. "It's Gokuru. Gokuru Uzumaki." Gokuru had a slight blush adorning his cheeks as well, since Kajumi was pressing her rather decent bust up against him. Gokuru then brought the pointer and middle fingers on both hands into a cross shaped seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Four perfect clones of Gokuru popped into being, causing Kajumi to somehow blush an even deeper shade of red when the other Gokurus appeared and sped past. Kajumi suddenly thought " _Five of him? Wait, he must be a ninja!"_ Incredulous, she started to turn towards the alley. Gokuru caught her chin again before she could look.

"There's nothing there you should see" he said somberly. Just then two clones appeared carrying her father, his arms slung over their shoulders. "Otou-san!" she cried. Her father, Hosoke, looked up and smiled. "I'm so happy you're okay, my flower" he said weakly.

"So, you're a ninja, huh? Don't see many of your type around here" Hosoke remarked.

"Otou-san, let's get you inside first" Kajumi said worriedly. Gokuru and his two clones then helped the duo back into their home, while his remaining clones took care of the body parts littering the alley.

 **LAND OF RIVERS- SOUTHEAST BORDER WITH FIRE COUNTRY**

Ryuusuke Uzumaki sighed as he gazed out on the quietly curling waves lapping at the beach before him. He then swept his eyes around to the three ships anchored in a partially hidden bay inlet to his right. He wanted to go home. He missed Sanctuary. He missed being able to properly experiment with fuinjutsu and training with Ashara-sensei. But mostly, he missed Hidoki. She might still hate him, but he had discovered that at least being near her was better than not being there. Even if she did hate him.

Ryuusuke sighed again, more heavily this time. A deep throated chuckle sounded from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, Ryuusuke was unsurprised to see the barrel chested form of Tatsuya Sekimoto. "Ah, my young friend. A man only sighs such when a woman is involved. I used to sound so when I was young, pining for a pristine maiden. I composed poems and songs, brought flowers and gifts, before finally charming her virginal heart" Tatsuya exclaimed, gesturing like some court bard. Ryuusuke's wry bark of laughter split the air. "You grabbed some girl in a raid, and locked her in your cabin probably" he shot back.

Tatsuya laughed before clutching his chest with an incredibly exaggerated display of injury. "Your jaded mistrust wounds me so! All know the Kaizoku-ou has a heart of gold. That he treats women as the goddesses they are." Ryuusuke just gave the self-styled "King of Pirates" a flat look. He then sighed again. "Well ' _Kaizoku_ - _ou'_ " Ryuusuke stressed his title sarcastically "I will believe that you managed to somehow sweet talk at least one woman, since your daughters must take after their mother." Tatsuya gave a booming laugh and sat next to Ryuusuke. Slinging an arm around him companionably, Tatsuya looked out over the water with a wistful expression. "Aye. Aye they do take after their mother, how I miss her so. Strong, smart, beautiful, and able to command a ship as if born to do so."

Ryuusuke felt a pang of guilt as he was suddenly reminded of his mission. He knew that Ashara-sensei would be very upset with him becoming so friendly with his mark. His mission was to pose as a pirate, and gather as many as he could to be used as needed. That way they could be used for Sanctuary's purposes without it leading back to the village. The pirates were very much considered expendable, and Ryuusuke forming bonds with them complicated things.

Ryuusuke had had no qualms about it at first. He had killed his way to the coveted first mate position with a group called the Crimson Oars. He had made great progress bringing together differing pirate factions into what Ryuusuke had dubbed the Freebooter's Pact. It simply stated that the members wouldn't step on each other's toes and established territories for each faction. If any outside group intruded, or any Pact member was caught poaching in another's territory, the others would band together and destroy the offending party.

Ryuusuke had had to be ruthless at times, and had killed many rivals to gain enough respect to pull it off. But, it had also been remarkably straight forward. Surprisingly so for Ryuusuke. Looking back on it, he shouldn't have been so surprised. Pirates were not complex people. Prove you're strong, can find treasure, and that you're not stupid enough to get your men killed or captured. All pirates wanted was to sail out, find a fat, easy prize, and return home richer than when they set out. Simple.

But it had gotten complicated when he met Tatsuya. Tatsuya was flamboyant and charismatic. He sported a huge tri corner pirate hat with a big, red feather adorning it. He wore an embroidered vest with a harness for his cutlasses, and baggy striped pants, going barefoot most of the time. The image any young boy would imagine if asked to think of a pirate (minus the hook or peg leg, but he did have a parrot!). Tatsuya was a rarity among the pirates. He romanticized the pirate life, and was very poetic when he talked about what he did. His charm was enough that it was easy to forget this silver tongued devil attacked ships and killed for money. But what had endeared him to Ryuusuke was his code.

Tatsuya never took slaves, never killed those who couldn't fight back, and didn't allow torture or abuse of captives being held for ransom. A rare code for a pirate. He also had instilled this thinking into his two daughters. When Ryuusuke had first met him, Tatsuya had requested that Ryuusuke join his crew before Tatsuya would agree to enter the Pact. His eldest had just turned 16 and Tatsuya believed she should have her own ship. Which of course meant he was going to steal said ship from someone else. With Ryuusuke's skilled help, he ended up getting not just a fine ship for his elder daughter, Maora, but got one for his other daughter as well.

The pretty younger daughter, Kochume, gained a huge crush on Ryuusuke when he personally presented her with her new ship. She would follow him around and gaze longingly at him whenever they were docked somewhere, with Ryuusuke remaining oblivious. He never understood why so many of Kochume's male crewmen seemed so jealous and ready to fight him all the time. Which amused Tatsuya to no end.

Ryuusuke looked down in thought, arguing with himself before settling on a decision. He looked up at the smirking Tatsuya. "Tatsuya, I… I have to…" Ryuusuke floundered, unable to find the right words. He stopped when Tatsuya held up a hand. "No need to say, you're leaving us, right?" Tatsuya laughed at the surprised look on Ryuusuke's face. "You know, for a shinobi, you're rather easy to read" Tatsuya stated. Ryuusuke shot to his feet in a defensive stance. "You knew? For how long?" Ryuusuke questioned. Tatsuya simply smiled up at him and remained sitting.

"It was obvious from the first time we fought together. Sure you might not be throwing flashy jutsu around, before you don't fight like a buccaneer. You wouldn't be the first ninja to take to this life you know" Tatsuya said. "Not to mention the way you organized the Freebooter's Pact. Seemed like you were a man on a mission." At this Tatsuya stood up and dusted sand off his pants. His face turned serious as he faced Ryuusuke. "I don't know what you have planned for us, but I tell you here and now, as long as you don't plan on betraying me or my daughters, you have my support."

Ryuusuke was taken aback, he had thought that he was doing a fine job keeping his cover. He cursed himself as he realized that he had let the Sekimoto pirate family get too close, and that he had shown too much of his real self. He also realized that he had underestimated the guile and intelligence of the Pirate King. "You know, my girls and I would be happy to be employed by someone who appreciated our skills. We could even be useful if someone were to, say, need to scour the seas of a few disreputable men…" Tatsuya then said.

Ryuusuke narrowed his eyes at the canny pirate as he responded carefully. "I sure you would be helpful if someone needed that. I'll keep my ears open just in case. And yes, I am going to be leaving for a short while. I need to settle some things at home." Tatsuya just smiled and held up his hands, palms skyward. "I knew it was about a woman. Oh, but my poor Ko-chan will be so devastated. She carried such a torch…" he trailed off as he turned and started walking back to the ships. "What? What do you mean?" Ryuusuke asked, as he followed bewildered "what torch?" Tatsuya's responding laughter echoed out over the water.

 **SANCTUARY- ASHARA'S OFFICE**

"Do you understand your mission?" Ashara asked. Standing before him was a figure dressed in monk's robes with a wicker tengai. The woven bamboo hat was shaped like a bell, concealing his face before flaring out below his jaw. There was an opening for his eyes with three vertical woven bars. In his hand he gripped a staff very much like Ashara's own Requiem Staff. This young man was Kennosuke, brother to Ryuusuke, and fellow student of Ashara. He was also a priest of the Kokuryukai, the Black Dragon Society. It was the closest thing to a religion that the Uzumaki had, though it venerated their ancestors and not any deity. "Yes, Ashara-sensei. Thank you for this opportunity" Kennosuke replied.

Kennosuke had just returned from a two year expedition to the remains of Uzushiogakure. On the 15th anniversary of The Fall (as the Uzumaki had come to call the downfall of Uzushiogakure), Ashara had sent a team to reclaim what they could from their violated homeland. The younger generation had grown up on stories of their ancestral home, and were eager to find out anything and everything they could about it. Though it was difficult at first, shifting through so much rubble… and bodies, Kennosuke had returned with many scrolls and items that had been sealed to protect them from looters. He had been pleased to find the Clan Head's Holdfast had a wall of corpses four feet high all around, from the Coalition foolishly trying to force their way in.

But Kennosuke had only been able to retrieve a few of the clan's Summoning Animal Contracts. Ashara had had the Badger Contract with him when he left Uzushio, and Ryuusuke had signed it. At Uzushio, Kennosuke found the Mantis Contract and signed it. When he attempted a summon, though, he was informed that as the previous Summoner had died without giving a recommendation as to her successor, he would need to travel to a Summoning Island and prove himself to a Mantis there.

The problem was that the Uzumaki only knew of one Summoning Island. It lay in the northern reaches of Kiri, in the southern Chigiri Sea. The only reason that Ashara was risking a mission there was because the Mizukage, Yagura, had apparently recently become unhinged. He was conducting a vicious propaganda campaign on his own people in some insane fear of bloodline limit families. That meant there was enough chaos for a small team to slip in and out.

"One more thing Kennosuke, I want you to take the twins Kuruken and Kurusen. They can back you up, and they will gain valuable mission experience. Be careful out there, my boy" Ashara said as he laid a hand on Kennosuke's shoulder. "I didn't spend all that time training you just for some Kiri fuckwit to take you down, understood?" Kennosuke bowed his head respectfully "I will honor your teachings, sensei" he replied formally. Ashara stifled a sigh. " _As stiff as ever, hopefully the twins will help loosen him up. He needs to enjoy life a bit more"_ Ashara thought.

"Good, I wish you a safe journey then. The twins will meet you at the Eastern Gate at 0700 tomorrow. Dismissed" Ashara said as he sat down at his desk. Kennosuke bowed and left the office.

 **KONOHA- MERCHANT DISTRICT- MORNING**

Naruto was on his way to talk to the Kamiumis, to see if Midori could come out and play. As he was turning a corner, he almost bumped into a blonde man facing away from him. He stopped and was about to apologize as he recognized that the man was a Yamanaka, like those at the failed BBQ. His voice died in his throat when he overheard what the Yamanaka was saying.

"I'm so glad that the little demon ran crying and screaming from the party. Can you imagine if we actually had to pretend to be nice to that monster? What was the Hokage thinking, ordering us to be friends with that shit? I bet from now on that we don't have to deal with the little monster anymore, and the clan heirs will be safe from him" Fu continued, glancing at Naruto discreetly. "I hope the little bastard demon just goes and kills himself. Rid the village of him for good" Fu stated firmly.

Naruto couldn't handle anymore. His small remaining hope that he could find friends within the group of people that had invited him the other day was smashed. He turned and ran for his apartment, unwilling to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

For hours, Naruto took his grief and frustration out on his already battered furniture. He had just thrown a stool at the front door, when it opened. The stool went flying outside, missing a surprised and concerned Mirobu by inches. Mirobu took a quick look around inside, slipping a dagger surreptitiously back under his robes.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing?! I thought you were being attacked! It sounded like there was an angry mob in here!" Mirobu walked inside and shut the door behind him. Naruto just stood there like a puppet whose strings had been cut. He looked drained. Mirobu rushed over when Naruto just dropped to his butt.

Mirobu put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Do you want to tell me what happened? You don't have to, but it might help to let it out" Mirobu said gently. Naruto just nodded and got up to shuffle dejectedly to his couch. As soon as they were both seated, Naruto told him all about the BBQ fiasco in a dead, defeated voice. His paused when he got to the part about Fu. Swallowing hard, he managed to force the words past the lump in his throat.

Mirobu was shocked, but he quickly buried it as pulled Naruto into a hug. "That man was wrong to say that, and I can't believe that either the Hokage or your masked friend would set you up like that. And although we have to leave soon, I know my family and I will look forward to seeing you again soon. We're not going to abandon you, ok? So, please don't think what some other people say is going to change what we know about you" Mirobu said reassuringly.

"R-Really? You mean it?" Naruto asked tearfully. "Absolutely! Now, Miyuki-chan and Midori-chan are both eager to see you again. How about you have dinner with us, then stay the night, hmm?" Mirobu asked. Naruto jumped up, pumping his fist in the air "Yatta, Miyuki-oba's cooking!" He cried gleefully. Naruto grabbed Mirobu's sleeve, trying to drag him out the door. "Come on Mirobu-oji! Let's get going!" A chuckling Mirobu allowed himself to be lead out the door, marveling at how quickly Naruto could recover his sunny disposition.

The next morning, Naruto was walking back to his apartment deep in thought. He nodded decisively and changed course for the Hokage Tower. " _Sometimes, its good to be smart, and ask for help."_ The words of the Hokage had kept repeating themselves in Naruto's head as he lay in the wagon's bunk bed with Midori snuggled up to him. Naruto was tired of crying. He was tired of feeling weak. Miyuki had off handedly commented "don't let them get to you, Naruto-kun. We still like you" at dinner last night.

That had been an epiphany of sorts for Naruto. Even though Miyuki had simply been trying to lighten his spirits, he had found those words to be profoundly wise. As he had lain in bed, he had resolved to thicken his skin. The villagers didn't like him? Fine, he'll just find people who did. People thought bad things about him? Fine, he'll just change their minds. He didn't want to cry anymore. He had people in this village who saw who he really was, and he was going to be strong for them.

He remembered the worry present in Inu's voice, and on the Hokage's face that first morning in the merchant camp. He noticed the worried looks Mirobu and Miyuki both shot him last night, when they thought he wasn't looking. The worry the Old Man and Ayame-nee chan tried to hide while serving him the day before yesterday. No more. No more would he cause the people he held so dear any more anguish. He had made it this far, and he will take all the world had to throw at him. He wouldn't break. He will be strong.

So he made a beeline to the Tower, forcing himself to walk down one of the main avenues. It was still fairly early, so there were many merchants out setting up their stalls. Villagers getting a jump on their shopping for the day. Basically, the type of crowd Naruto would usually skulk past or avoid. Not today. He squared his shoulders and simply kept the Tower firmly in sight, tuning out his surroundings. He was amazed how well he was handling it. His breathing did increase, and he felt stirrings of anxiety, but he ruthlessly mastered himself with a remarkable degree of self-control for a five year old.

He literally marched up the steps of the Tower and to the Hokage's office. The Hokage's secretary, a no nonsense woman in her mid-thirties, gave an uncharacteristic giggle at the sight of Naruto. He had a strange look on his face, obviously intended to make him look serious and grown up. But with his five year old body, he didn't quite pull it off. The secretary put a serious look to match his, announcing him to the Hokage with an imperious voice.

Naruto walked up to the Hokage's desk and slapped his hands on its surface, which was just below his eyelevel. The Hokage's mouth twitched, but he realized that Naruto was being very serious. "Yes Naruto-kun? What can I help you with today? The Hokage replied in a somber tone. "I want training jiji. Today. I'm going to be strong, and I remember you saying you were going to help. So help. Please." Naruto stated each sentence like a general commanding his troops. Inwardly, Hiruzen was glad that the BBQ debacle had only made Naruto stronger and more resolute. Pride filled him at Naruto's maturity.

"You are quite right, Naruto-kun. I am impressed by your determination. In fact, I've been meaning to give you this" the Hokage reached into his desk and withdrew a folder, handing it to Naruto. "What's this jiji?" Naruto queried. "That is the meal plan and exercises recommended by Chohiku-san. Do you remember her? From the Academy?" The Hokage asked. Naruto's brow furrowed in a thought a moment, then recognition sparked. "Oh yeah, she's the one who measured me everywhere. She kept asking me questions and making do all these weird things with my arms and legs. She called me short!" Naruto said indignantly.

The Hokage chuckled "Well those "weird things" were to test your body's range of motion" he then broke off at Naruto's look of confusion. "It means how your body moves, where it's strong and where it's weak" the Hokage explained. Naruto "ahhh"ed in understanding, nodding with his hand cupping his chin. "Anyway, you are to start with those exercises she planned out, to get yourself up to strength while I find a taijutsu tutor for you" the Hokage stated. He had originally hoped the Akimichi's would be handling that, but he would have to change that thinking.

"If you have any problems finding the ingredients for or preparing the meals Chohiku-san recommends, just let me know and we'll figure something out, ok?" The Hokage asked. Naruto nodded eagerly "sure thing jiji, thanks!" "Your welcome, Naruto-kun. I look forward to seeing your progress. Oh, and before I forget, here. This is a pass allowing you to use training ground nine when it is not in use by any ninja" the Hokage said grabbing a scroll and tossing it to Naruto.

Naruto looked at the scroll in hands like it was made of gold. He clutched it to his chest gratefully. "Well Naruto-kun, I suggest you get started right away" the Hokage said "and I'll get started finding you that tutor." Naruto nodded and ran out of the office, shouting over his shoulder "bye jiji, thanks!" The Hokage just smiled and pushed his other paperwork aside, pulling out information files on various shinobi. " _Hmm, who to choose, who to choose…_ "

 **KONOHA- MERCHANT DISTRICT- THAT NIGHT**

Mirobu entered his wagon after finishing locking up his stall, and securing his goods. He regretted the fact that the caravan would be leaving within the week. He hated to leave Naruto alone so soon, but he could only hope the blonde could hang in there. He knew Naruto was a tough kid, though. When he passed the little alcove where he removed his shoes, he noticed something. The little porcelain good-luck cat charm he kept a small shelf was facing the wall. That was a signal from his contacts that he had received a message, since it normally faced outward.

He made sure he was alone as he subtly pressed the end of a board in the wall behind the charm. A piece popped open, revealing a small cubby with a small scrap of parchment, tied with a string. Quickly, removing it and restoring everything to normal, he pocketed the scroll. Later, when Miyuki and Midori had settled down for the night, Mirobu sat down at his desk. Removing the parchment from his pocket, he untied the string and unraveled the message. It was heavily encoded, but Mirobu had memorized the cipher long ago, as per his training.

After decoding the message, he was astonished by its contents. He decoded the message another three times and reread it over and over, hoping it would change. Finally, he had to come to terms with reality. For a moment Mirobu just slumped back in his chair listlessly, gaping off into space. Shaking his head, he roused himself, remembering to dispose of the message. Only one thing occupied his thoughts as his burned the message in a small ceramic bowl he kept just for that purpose. " _Miyuki's going to kill me."_

XXXXXXXXXXX

A/N And scene! I am glad that people are liking this story so far. I know this chapter seemed a little slow paced, but I'm just doing a little background and world building. I promise to begin speeding things up soon. Also, just wanted to introduce a couple of Naruto's relatives, as they will obviously be important later.

So Happy Halloween and I'll try to get out another chapter soon! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Apparently, my chapters show up quite differently on this site then they do on my Word page. I will try to get the spacing situated better, so please bear with me. Also, once I get the preliminary threads of this story started, there will be fewer scene breaks. I'll try not to bounce around too much. That being said, thank you so much for the support and the love for my first story! It is very much appreciated!

 ***DISCLAIMER- I DON'T OWN NARUTO*- It's Kishimoto's sandbox, I'm just peeing in the corner**

 **KONOHA- HOKAGE TOWER- MORNING**

The Hokage sat at his desk, staring at the personnel file in front of him. He had promised Naruto a tutor, and had spent all night perusing files looking for the right match. After the BBQ-that-shall-not-be-spoken-of, he needed to get a tutor that would be able to connect with Naruto personally. His ANBU Inu was considered heavily, before the Hokage had decided Inu needed to finish the last of his planned wetwork missions and recover mentally first.

The Hokage felt that he had found a good match though. Laid back, yet serious when needed. He didn't view Naruto as a monster or a weapon. He also had a sense of humor. Quite possibly he could bond with Naruto through their shared jokester nature. He had also been Choza Akimichi's student, so he might be able to bridge any possible rifts between Naruto and that clan. As one of the Hokage's elite guards, the tokubetsu jonin was obviously skilled enough to tutor Naruto effectively.

There was a knock at the door, jerking the Hokage from his thoughts. "Enter" he commanded. A man in the standard Konoha jonin dark blue uniform and flak jacket came in and saluted the Hokage. "Ah, just the man I was thinking about" the Hokage said, steepling his fingers together in front of him. " _Well, I hope this works better than my last plan"_ the Hokage thought. To the tokubetsu jonin he said "I have an important mission for you…"

 **MEANWHILE- LAND OF WAVE- SEA CREST INN**

A bell rang at the front desk of an inn conveniently placed right at the village entrance. The owner walked out to greet her newest customer. She saw a young lady in her mid-teens, red hair pulled back into a pony tail at the top of her head, with some slipping free and covering one of her blue eyes. She wore a sleeveless green robe that split into four strips below her hips. The robe covered a white undershirt, with the strips flowing about her white deerskin leggings, and sturdy calf-length leather boots. A broad white sash held her robe closed.

Smiling the owner approached her. "Yes, young lady what may I do for you?" she asked politely. She got a beaming smile in return. "Hi!" the young woman chirped "I've just arrived in town and was wondering if someone may have taken a room here. He's a redhead like me, with a scalp lock. Umm, he's tallish I guess, green pants, grey shirt, boots. Probably came by in the last day or two. You seen him?"

The inn's owner hid a demure laugh behind her hand "Oh yes, I know him. He's a handsome one, isn't he? And so popular, so quickly…" The girl laughed "Well, I guess he's not too hard on the eyes, but he's like a brother to me, sooo… no. ew."

Fearing she may have insulted her guest, the owner apologized quickly. "I'm sorry, young miss, I meant nothing by it. But, yes he did take a room here. Would you like one as well, Miss..?" "Mira" the teen responded "the name's Mira, and yeah I need a room. By the way, what's this with Gokuru-tan being all popular?" Mira asked as she dug out her coin purse. "Oh well, that boy just had to make a dent his first day, it seems! Saved one of our merchants from petty gang thugs like some hero in a story!" the owner gushed excitedly.

"I just heard from a friend, who got it from the sister of a dock worker who was there, that…" As she chattered on about the details, Mira inwardly groaned, but kept her expression pleasant. " _A hero in a story, huh? So much for low profile. I just know there was a pretty girl involved. He always wanted to be the Heroic Samurai, and save a damsel in distress. Dunce probably even told her he was an Uzumaki, too! Now we're in for it, Ashara-sama's going to be pissed!"_ Mira seethed. She managed to get the owner to walk as she talked about "the heroic rescue". Finally, they reached Mira's room and she was able to get rid of the fawning owner.

As she got settled in her room, Mira pondered the owner's story. " _Hmm, from what I can tell, the rescue wasn't that incredibly showy. So why so star struck over someone sticking it to some thugs? Sounds like the people here may be chaffing under these gangs more than the reports showed. Or things have been getting worse lately. Well, I'm sure I'll find out soon. Better check out the situation in town, and maybe find that idiot cousin of mine."_ Mira had one thought as she left to search the town. " _I never should have given him those "Mushashi the Hero" books, kami damn it."_

 **KONOHA- TRAINING GROUND NINE- AFTERNOON**

Naruto was doing wind sprints as he was halfway through one of the exercise plans Chohiku had put together. He had been pushing himself hard all day, excited to get some help in training. He had originally talked with the Hokage about becoming a ninja on his fourth birthday. At the time the idea had appealed to him, and he had said he'd think about it. Later, he had tried training himself, but he really had no idea what he was doing. He had sometimes tried spying on the genin teams when they were being trained, but their senseis obviously didn't care for that, and would run him off.

Inu had given him some blunt kunai about six months ago, but he could only learn by trial and error. Hitting whatever target he was using through luck as much as skill. Now that jiji was actually getting people to help him, Naruto just knew that he was going to be powerful someday.

Training also helped to take his mind off the fact that the merchant caravan with the Kamiumi's had left yesterday. When they were saying goodbye, Naruto's self-imposed rule to not cry was severely tested when Miyuki had gifted him with a hand knit red scarf. Naruto had, predictably, taken their departure very hard. He had pranked a particularly nasty store owner this morning, but it hadn't helped as much as it usually did. Negative attention was still at least some attention; but it was a pale comparison to the treatment he had been getting from the Kamiumis.

Suddenly the hair on the back of his neck rose, and Naruto stopped dead. Staring into the tree line at the edge of the training yard, he felt eyes staring back. He was shocked when a man seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"W-Who are you?" Naruto demanded "what do you want?" The man raised his hands in a calming motion. "Easy Naruto-san, I'm your tutor. The Hokage sent me."Naruto studied him critically as the man walked forward. He was about 5' 9", maybe 155 lbs. He wore the standard jonin uniform and flak jacket, so he must have some skill. He wore a bored expression, a blue do rag, and curiously had a senbon hanging from his mouth.

"My name's Genma. Genma Shiranui. I'm here to turn you into something resembling a shinobi" Genma smirked. As predicted, Naruto launched into a tirade about how he was going to become strong and be Hokage one day. Mid-rant Naruto was cut off by Genma laughing loudly.

"What?! What, you don't think I can become Hokage?! Well I-" Naruto's response was cut short by Genma holding up his hands in placation. "Naruto, I'm sure you'll become strong. One day. In the future. Far, far from now" Genma said with a smirk. "But for now, I've been assigned by our illustrious, all knowing, and probably-spying-on-us-right-now leader to teach you all that I can."

At first, Naruto was very put off when he thought this man was laughing at his ambition. But when Genma's words started to sink in about him thinking that Naruto could be strong, and that Genma was going to be teaching him, Naruto grew excited. "What are we going to do first sensei?" Naruto cried in anticipation. Genma's smile became a little malicious. "I've heard that you're a prankster, Naruto. I've even heard some ANBU say that you are difficult to catch, is that true?" Genma queried.

Naruto looked down bashfully and scuffed his feet in the dirt. "I don't know about that, but I can outrun them for awhile. And I was the one who lured Tora into the Inuzuka kennels!" Naruto proclaimed triumphantly. Genma paled instantly and flashed in front of Naruto. Grabbing the boy by the shoulders, he pinned him with a grave look. "Never, ever brag about that again! Especially if Tsume-sama is around. It's for you own good!" Genma exclaimed, all the while shaking Naruto for emphasis.

"Anyway, I've got a test for you" Genma said, as he suddenly released Naruto, causing him to fall into some nearby bushes. Genma chuckled as Naruto grumbled and cursed, extracting himself from the offending foliage. "What? What is it?" Naruto groused, sitting cross-legged with his arms crossed defiantly across his chest. Genma chuckled again as he leaned down to Naruto's level. "Here's what you need to do…"

 **LAND OF WAVE- HOSOKE'S HOME**

Gokuru Uzumaki was sitting at a worn, but obviously lovingly polished dining room table. A fluffy Pomeranian had somehow decided Gokuru was now his new best friend and had taken up residence on Gokuru's lap. Hosoke was slumped in a chair recovering from his recent abuse. Kajumi however, was bustling around the kitchen, making tea for her father and dinner for all of them. Shooting glances at their dinner guest all the while.

"Would you like some help Kajumi?" Gokuru asked. "N-No need, please don't trouble yourself, Gokuru-kun" a blushing Kajumi answered. "I would feel bad if I didn't help out a little" Gokuru said. He put his hands into a seal again and popped out a clone. "Just let him know whatever you need done, Kajumi" Gokuru said.

A bright red Kajumi put the clone to work, disappearing into the kitchen as Hosoke eyed his redheaded rescuer pensively. " _A ninja, and an Uzumaki to boot. What's he doing in our town? Just passing through, maybe?"_ Hosoke thought as he noticed Gokuru studying him as well. "Alright boy, you got questions. Ask 'em." Hosoke cut right to the chase. Gokuru chuckled, before adopting a serious expression.

"Who were those men? Are more coming? What did they want?" he asked.

"In order, cheap thug assholes, yes, and my warehouse." Hosoke deadpanned.

"Your warehouse!? That's it!? Why would they go so far for that?" Gokuru exclaimed.

"This midget bastard Geko… Gabo… Gato… whatever, I forget." Gokuru sweat-dropped at that. "He's started to come in and offer people cash for their holdings. Ships, shops, houses, warehouses, he's all over the place!" Hosoke continued. "But I got a bad feeling from the evil little dwarf, and refused to sell. Then he hired some local gang members to "renegotiate" with me. I'm the chairman of the pearl diver's guild here; so if I sold, a lot of other owners would as well. Then you showed up and here we are. Thanks for that, by the way. You're a real hero!" Hosoke flashed a grin, and a thumb's up at Gokuru.

Gokuru straightened with a sheepish pose, one hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "Never mind that! I'm just glad I was here in time to help" he said humbly. Hosoke grinned and leaned towards the sheepish young man. "You did more than that, I bet-" Whatever he bet was cut off as Kajumi and Gokuru's clone came in and set the table with delectable smelling food.

"Your clone was very helpful, Gokuru-kun" Kajumi said bashfully as his clone dispelled. "Oh! ... umm... I'm glad Kajumi-chan…" Gokuru responded. Hosoke was delighted to see a blush on his rescuer's features and decided to tease the two a bit.

"Yes Kajumi- _chan_ it smells wonderful. I bet you put a lot of love into it for Gokuru- _kun._ " Hosoke said, purposefully stressing the affectionate suffixes the two were using. "I imagine the conquering hero deserves a _proper thank you_ , after all. You better grab him up now Kajumi-chan, before he le-mmmphps" Hosoke was suddenly silenced by a heavily blushing Kajumi's hand attaching itself to his face.

"Ano… please don't mind my otou-san, he has a _unique_ sense of humor" at this Kajumi's head whipped around, and her eyes bore into her father's. "And he _will not_ be sharing his sense of humor any more, right otou-san?" she asked, eyes narrowed. "FF wuu swwaee ssuu" Hosoke said, his eyes dancing with mirth as his daughter still had his face trapped in her grip.

Gokuru cleared his throat loudly in embarrassment, and Kajumi "eep"ed before quickly sitting down. Hosoke decided to show some mercy and shifted the conversation back to the previous topic.

"Those Redwater Teeth idiots were just a nuisance before. Their "protection" just a cost of doing business. They would usually go bother their rival gang, The Undercuts" Hosoke said shrugging. "But ever since this new guy showed up, he's been making a big push for "aggressive property acquirement" as he put it."

"Do you have any security in town? A constable, maybe?" Gokuru asked.

"Well, the closest thing we have is the local militia" Kajumi said "And they won't go up against the gangs, usually. We're mostly just fishermen and farmers."

"The daimyo of Wave is not a rich man, especially compared to the other daimyo's, but he does help when he can." Hosoke said "Unfortunately, the first two constables he sent were killed, and the third one is in the Redwater Teeth's pocket. They're starting to suck this town dry, the lucrative shipping trade being the only thing that's keeping us going."

"And it's exactly what brought that man here, right? To cut into your shipping business." Gokuru stated grimly. He fell silent a moment, then declared firmly "Well, that's about to change! I can kill two birds with one stone!"

"What? What do you mean?" Hosoke questioned.

"I'll use the bodies of those assholes from before, along with a few other gentle nudges, to start a gang war. Then swing in after, and mop up the survivors. That will also conveniently defang umm… who was it again?"

"Gato!" Kajumi cried, catching onto Gokuru's plan "He'll have to leave everyone alone after that!" She then grew apprehensive. "But that would put you into horrible danger, Gokuru-kun. Why would you risk it?"

"There's no way I could turn my back on this town's suffering. Not when I have the ability to help" declared Gokuru. The determined look in Gokuru's handsome blue eyes as he stared in Kajumi's chocolate brown ones made her flush from her neck to her hairline. She was quickly looked away as she had a sudden urge to lay kisses along his firm jawline.

"Well said, my boy" Hosoke shifted Gokuru's attention to him before his daughter fainted. "Unfortunately, I don't think we could give you much of a payment for putting your life on the line" Hosoke said sadly. "Plus, there wouldn't be any back up from the militia, probably."

"That's alright, I came here to meet up with my cousin anyway. She's a strong ninja like me!" Gokuru said encouragingly, his right hand giving a thumb's up. Which earned him a cute little giggle from Kajumi for his antics. "Besides, this is like home turf for me. I grew up in a town just like this one not too far from here" Gokuru continued. At this, Kajumi's ears perked up as she was eager to find out more about her redheaded hero.

"Can you tell us about it, Gokuru-kun?" she asked demurely. At this, the conversation wandered into much more pleasant territory as Gokuru and the others shared stories and became more comfortable around each other. The meal wore on and before anyone realized it, it was deep into the evening. Gokuru decided it was time to return to his room at the inn. He stepped out the front door and turned to face Hosoke and Kajumi as they followed.

"Thank you so much for a wonderful dinner and even better hospitality!" Gokuru said sincerely.

"No, thank you for saving my life and my daughter's purity" Hosoke said, causing Gokuru and Kajumi to turn bright red.

"N-No problem, a-anytime" Gokuru said bashfully, with his hand behind his head.

Hosoke then bowed, before stepping up and grabbing Gokuru's forearm, his expression dead serious. "Honestly, thank you. You're a good man, and my daughter and I are honored to have met you." Gokuru beamed at the sincerity in the man's voice.

"Now, I'll be happy to give you some of that smoked fish you enjoyed so much. I have it stored way in the back of the cellar" Hosoke started, before he grinned and said "I'm going to grab some for you, but I'm sure it'll take me a while to find it though". Kajumi blushed again as she caught onto her father's hinting. Gokuru just looked a little lost.

"Um, ok. Take your time I guess" Gokuru said simply. "Uh, thanks. That was some tasty fish." Hosoke just shook his head, grinning as he shut the door behind him. Gokuru then turned to the shy Kajumi. He stepped up to her, and placed a hand on her bare shoulder. The warmth of his hand, combined with the rough callouses gained from his training, sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.

"I'm going to come and check up on you guys regularly, so I don't want you to feel scared, ok? I'm not going to let them hurt you." Looking up into Gokuru's caring blue eyes in surprise, Kajumi's heart fluttered at his protectiveness.

"Thank you. Thank you so much" she said breathily. "I can't tell you what that means to me" Kajumi said, placing her hands on his chest.

The two fell silent just staring into each other's eyes. Gokuru felt himself drawn into the lovely brown orbs shining up at him with unwavering faith and appreciation. It made him feel like such a hero! The two teens then realized just how close in proximity they were. They sprang apart, blushing and unable to look at each other. The awkward moment was interrupted by the door banging open.

"Here you go Gokuru-kun!" Hosoke said brightly, handing him a box. Gokuru took it awkwardly.

"U-uh thanks! Well I should be going!" Gokuru said a little louder than normal. He then turned to Kajumi and a warm smile split his face. "Good night, Kajumi-chan" he said softly. With a gentle smile on her own face, Kajumi stepped up to Gokuru.

"Good night Gokuru-kun" she said as she shyly wrapped Gokuru up in a tight hug. "I hope you come by again soon" she whispered in his ear. She was proud of herself when she felt Gokuru shiver as her warm breath hit his ear. "O-Of course! First thing tomorrow!" Gokuru got out, making Kajumi giggle. They reluctantly parted as they could feel Hosoke's pleased smirk directed at them.

Kajumi stayed and watched as Gokuru disappeared into the darkening night. She saw a puff of smoke, but didn't realize that it was Gokuru making a clone to watch the house for any Redwater Teeth reprisals. She just knew she felt a sense of protection and bowed her head with a small smile. " _Thank you, thank you so much Gokuru-kun"_ she thought as she stepped back into the house.

 **KONOHA- MAIN GATE GUARDHOUSE**

At a guardhouse set just inside Konoha's large main gate sat two men clad in standard chuunin uniforms, Izumo Kamuzuki and Kotetsu Hagane. Kotetsu was lounging back in a chair, with his legs propped on a table, and his hands behind his head. Izumo was scolding his partner for taking the guard duty so lightly. They both looked up when they heard a slight skittering on the roof.

All of a sudden, Naruto's head popped into view upside down as he lay on the roof. "Heads up!" Naruto cried before launching two water balloons at the surprised chuunin. The balloons hit them both in the face. Izumo and Kotetsu quickly discovered the "water" balloons were actually filled with bright orange paint. Naruto shot off the roof, with the now orange-clad chuunin chasing him.

Naruto cut to his right into an alley, the chuunin hot on his heels. At least until they hit the transparent plastic wrap Naruto had stretched across the width of the alley at head height. Izumo hit first; sputtering and thrashing, he pulled the rest onto Kotetsu's face as well. The two ripped off the plastic wrap, and were surprised to see Naruto just standing there in front of them.

A shiver went down their spines as Naruto's well-known prankster smile appeared. They then noticed the rope in his hand. Before they could react, Naruto pulled the rope, causing a bucket above them to tip down and dump glitter all over the two chuunin.

Naruto fell to the ground, clutching his sides as he laughed uproariously. "Na-ru-to" Kotetsu and Izumo growled out ominously. They took a step forward to capture the little trickster, but stopped when the heard an adult's laughter. They spun around to see Genma raising a camera and taking a quick snapshot of their surprised, glittery, orange faces.

"Great job, Naruto!" Genma congratulated. "Wait, this was your idea, Genma? What the hell?" Kotetsu asked. "Yeah! We still have a job to do Genma! Now we're representing the Leaf while orange and twinkly!" Izumo said. "Oh, relax Izumo. And this was payback for you both hustling me at the poker game last week. You two had a little payback coming, and I wanted to see Konoha's number one prankster in action. Besides, I think it's a good look for you" Genma grinned.

When Kotetsu and Izumo just stared stonily back at him, Genma just gave an exaggerated shrug and sigh. "Fine, fine. This is an easy fix" Genma said, before using a low-level Suiton jutsu to wash off the offending glitter and paint. "Come on Naruto, I'll treat to lunch after that fine performance. Then we can start your training!" Genma said brightly as started to walk off, ignoring the twin glares boring into his back.

Naruto rushed to Genma's side happily chanting "Ramen! Training! Ramen! Training!" The sodden chuunin huffed grouchily as they made their damp way back to the guard post, water sloshing out of their sandals.

Hiruzen leaned back from the crystal ball he had been using to observe Genma and Naruto. He smiled at the simple brilliance of Genma's plan. Pranks and ramen were great ice-breakers when it came to Naruto. He felt even better now about choosing Genma as the tutor.

Later on, Genma and Naruto returned to training ground 9. Genma had Naruto practice some basic taijutsu katas to get a feel for what Naruto's base skill was. He then gave a brief overview of the three main branches of ninja arts: taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. When he got to ninjutsu, Naruto lit up with excitement.

"Can you teach me some cool jutsu, sensei? Can you? Can you?" Naruto was practically hopping up and down. Genma chuckled "Sure, Naruto. But first, you need to learn how to mold chakra properly." Naruto pouted. "But I want a really cool jutsu sensei" he whined. "You have to start slow, Naruto. There are no shortcuts if you want to be truly strong. There are definitely no shortcuts to becoming Hokage. It will take some time, but I bet you'll see a huge difference by the time you enter the Academy" Genma lectured. "Now, here is the hand sign to mold chakra…"

By the time late afternoon was falling, Naruto was exhausted. Trying to wrangle some cooperation from his chakra had been draining. Genma didn't seem too worried and just kept telling him that Naruto was just starting out and that it would take time. Of course, Naruto wanted to be done and learning jutsu this time yesterday, but he tried to get his impatience in check. Genma then dismissed Naruto for the day, telling him to return to training ground nine at 10 am.

Feeling a chill from the sweat he had worked up, Naruto mentally thanked Miyuki for the scarf as he wound it around his neck. Naruto decided to conveniently skip over a certain part of Chohiku's meal plan, and headed to Ichiraku's for some ramen. He hadn't been able to come by the last couple days, and wanted to see Teuchi-oji san and Ayame-nee san. He was cutting through the park when he heard a muffled cry from the side. It was followed by some malicious laughter. Naruto knew that particular sound all too well, and decided to investigate.

When he pushed some branches aside, he stopped at the sight of a young girl around his age with dark blue hair, wearing a kimono with an unfamiliar symbol on the back, and she was on her knees. She was facing away from Naruto, and towards three older boys surrounding her in a semi-circle. The three bullies sneered down at their captive. "Look at the high-and-mighty Hyuuga now. This is how you should be, freak! Think you're so much better than us with your weird eyes, freak? Huh? I asked you a question, freak!" The boy in the middle taunted, obviously the leader.

"Yeah, speak up freak! You Hyuugas weren't so quiet when you called my family peasants, in the marketplace!" The boy to her left cried, brandishing a tiny fist. "P-Pl-Please f-forgive me. I-I'm s-s-ssorry!" The terrified girl squeaked out quietly. The lead boy cupped his hand to his ear mockingly. "You're what? What was that, freak? I couldn't hear you!" At this the boy kicked out and connected with her shoulder, forcing her to her back on the ground. He ground his foot down, causing the girl to cry out in pain and fear.

That cry spurred Naruto into action, and he rushed forward yelling "hey! Leave her alone! You bullies are nothing but punks! I hate punk bully bitches!" The three surprised boys just gaped as Naruto ran up and delivered a solid right hook to the leader's chin. The boy sprawled back and fell on his butt. Naruto took up a stance in front of the girl, shielding her. "I won't let them hurt you anymore." He said over his shoulder.

"Get him!" The lead boy cried before getting up and rushing Naruto himself. Naruto did the best he could, giving all he had. He was used to beatings after all, and he really did despise bullies. In the end, though, he was still a malnourished five year old boy with one afternoon of training. The bullies ended up using his precious scarf to punch him around like a paddle ball. He would get hit while another held his scarf, so he never stayed out of range of any abuse.

Finally, the three boys tired themselves out, throwing the ragged remains of Naruto's scarf at his feet as they shuffled home. Naruto just lay spread eagled on the ground, waiting for his body to respond to his commands again. The girl crawled over to Naruto on her hands and knees, crying all the while. "W-Why? W-W-Why did y-you d-do that?" She kept hovering her small hands over his battered torso, not knowing what to do.

Naruto cracked an eye open. "Are you ok?" He got out. She recoiled in shock. Was _she_ ok!? She settled for back on her heels, trying to control her tears. "Y-yes, th-thank y-you. B-But I'm more w-worried about y-you. Are y-you ok? W-What's your n-name?" She stuttered out. All of a sudden, Naruto popped into a sitting position with a grin, getting a surprised yelp from the girl. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konoha! What's your name?" Naruto said in an upbeat manner. The girl gave a small smile, glad that he didn't seem to be too hurt after having to suffer watching him take such abuse for her.

"I am Hinata Hyuuga. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She said formally while bowing, her Hyuuga etiquette training kicking in. In the back of Hinata's mind she was glad that, for once, she could do the greeting without stuttering. Naruto however, seemed confused at the formal display. "Uh, ok. Well, nice to meet you too. I'm glad I could help with those bullies. I hate people who're mean for no reason, and look down on others, dattebayo!" Naruto proclaimed.

Hinata looked at him, feeling a roiling mix of emotions. She was angry and humiliated at being too weak to defend herself, which had ended up causing this boy pain. But at the same time, she felt inspired by Naruto's confidence and his proclaimed views, which she whole-heartedly agreed with. Naruto turned and finally got a good look at Hinata, as she had been staring down in shame before. Hinata blushed as Naruto stared at her pupil-less lavender eyes. She was self-conscious, thinking that her savior might think her eyes were freakish too.

"Cool eyes, I've never seen eyes like that." Naruto's comment made her perk up in happiness, but then she was a little confused. "You d-don't know of m-my clan? The Hyuuga?" "Nope, sorry. But I still hope you want to friends. Want to be friends?" Naruto said, holding his hand out with a huge smile. Hinata was taken aback, because no-one was ever this casual and friendly around her except her mom. Just as she was about to answer, the form of a panicking teenager crashed through the brush.

"Hinata-sama! Are you ok!? Why did you run off like that!?" Ko, her caretaker, burst out. He had been sidetracked by a woman flirting with him, trying to marry into the Hyuugas. When he realized Hinata was gone, he had flown into a panic. He kneeled next to Hinata to inspect her for any wounds. "Hinata-sama, you've been crying, what has happened?" At this, he noticed the boy next to him, and his eyes narrowed angrily. "Oh, it's _you_ " he sneered at Naruto. "Do you realize that I could kill you right now for daring to harass the Heiress, _brat_ " Ko spat venomously.

"Come Hinata-sama, you shouldn't be near this… this trash" Ko stated haughtily. He began to lead Hinata away by the hand, but Hinata's gaze had been fixed on Naruto since Ko had said " _you"_ in that tone she hated. That arrogant Hyuuga tone she was supposed to be learning to wield like a weapon. The hurt and pain that had crawled across her rescuer's face as he heard Ko degrade him cut at her. After a couple steps, "No!" she cried ripping her dainty hand out of Ko's. Ko looked at her in shock. "He is not trash! He saved me when you didn't!" As she turned to walk back to Naruto, Hinata almost fainted as she realized she had just shouted at her caretaker. And without stuttering!

When she reached the still seated and flabbergasted Naruto, she nervously held out her hand, desperately hoping it wouldn't start shaking. "Y-Yes, Naruto-san, I would l-like to be y-your friend." Naruto looked at her hand in wonder, tears threatening to spill. Never. Never had someone his age stood up for him! He slowly reached out and took Hinata's hand, shaking it as if he was dreaming. Hinata blushed at the contact. She looked to the ground in embarrassment, which brought the ruined scarf into her vision. She hadn't really paid it any mind when she was flagellating herself for her weakness earlier.

"Oh, N-Naruto-san, your scarf! I'm s-so s-sorry!" Hinata started gathering up the pieces of the scarf. Naruto picked up a couple pieces in shaking hands, his earlier elation turning icy and bitter. He squeezed his eyes and hands shut in grief and anger over losing something so precious. Willing himself not to cry, he dropped the pieces back down. "Don't worry about it, Hinata-san." Naruto ground out in a dead, defeated voice. "Can't be fixed."

Hinata's head snapped up from where she was gathering the wool at the disturbing sound. Naruto just stood up and couldn't tear his gaze from the bits of cloth scattered like blood stains on the ground. He felt like it was blood gushing from his aching heart. He couldn't take it. His precious scarf taken from him almost as soon as he had received it. Without another word, he spun and ran, trying to get far away from this clearing. It would only be much later that he would realize that he had run from Hinata and friendship, redoubling his anguish.

Hinata sat there frozen, her hands still clutching the tattered scraps of wool. Her eyes teared up as she realized that she had caused Naruto pain again. Only this time it seemed to be ten times worse. She clutched her hands to her chest, berating herself over and over silently. Ko was surprised at the scene that had played out in front of him, but moved into action when he saw Hinata start to cry.

He was worried about her involvement with the blonde pariah, but he cared about his charge deeply. He carefully knelt next to Hinata and brought her hands away from her chest. "I'm sorry Hinata-sama. I don't know what that boy is to you, and I honestly think you should stay away from him. But-" he said as he saw her about to speak "I want you to be happy. How about we gather this up, and take it to your mom? I'm sure Lady Hyoko can help, alright?" Smiling gently at Hinata, he helped her gather up all the pieces before leading her back home.

The next afternoon, Ko was limping towards an exclusive, specialty market the Hyuugas favored. He was in an extremely foul mood. After taking responsibility for losing Hinata last night, her enraged father and the Clan Head, Hiashi, had told Ko to come spar with him in the morning. Ko shuddered at the memory of the cold fury in Lord Hiashi's voice. Then winced as his body reminded him of the "spar" with his clan leader. Only after the Gentle Fist master had utilized the jyuuken style to close every single one of Ko's non-vital tenketsu points was Hiashi satisfied. He turned and left without uttering a single word, either before or after the brutal session. He left the tenderized and immobile Ko quivering on the hard, wooden floor.

Now Ko was being further humiliated by doing the job of one of the Branch House kitchen scullions: grocery shopping. For a Hyuuga Main House member to be forced to do menial labor was very shaming, especially if it was considered a weak and easy task.

So, Ko was pretty pissed at the moment. And lost. Which only compounded his frustration as he had never actually been to the out-of-the-way specialty market, and was too proud to ask for directions. He was wandering in a poor area that he was unfamiliar with, when he spotted a young blonde boy. With a groan, he turned to try and avoid the brat. Naruto spotted him though, and ran up to him.

"Hey, you're the… one…" Naruto trailed off at the obvious state of bruising and discomfort that Ko was suffering. "Uh, anyway do you know where Hinata-san is?" Naruto asked. Ko was seething. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to lower himself to speaking to this peasant brat, who spoke of Hinata-sama so casually. He most definitely didn't want to put him back into contact with her, especially after this morning. To top it off, the reason for his suffering had brushed off his pain as trivium!

"Go away, brat! I have nothing to say to the likes of you" Ko growled, pushing past the boy. He couldn't go very fast, though, and Naruto was nothing if not stubborn. "Hey! HEY! I'm not done talking to you. Where's Hinata-san? I want an answer!" Naruto harassed the limping man as he struggled forward. Ko took a swipe at Naruto, who had warily stayed just out of reach. Ko grumbled under his breath about "his aching body" and "blonde terrors", while Naruto just kept harassing him.

After about two blocks of this, Ko finally snapped when he realized he was being ridiculed by the surrounding onlookers. He drew the tattered remains of his Hyuuga pride together and stood as straight backed as he could, gazing down at Naruto imperiously. "Away with you commoner! I have nothing to stay to some ignorant street rat. Are you so foolish that you do not know the location of my clan's compound? The greatest clan in all of Konoha!?" Ko proclaimed from on high, getting a few disgusted murmurs from the onlookers at his arrogance. This was not an area of Konoha to find people impressed by clan names.

Naruto was glaring back at Ko with one eye squinted shut and his arms crossed over his chest. Then an idea seemed to strike Naruto, and he brightened. "Oh duh. She said she was from a clan! I should have thought of that. Thanks teme!" Naruto shouted and ran off. The crowd was stunned as Naruto further embarrassed the haughty clansman, and started laughing openly. Ko fumed and strode angrily away… well limped angrily away.

Naruto, though, was happily running through the streets toward the Clan Quarter, near the Hokage Tower. Genma-sensei had made this morning's exercises tougher after learning about Naruto's little altercation. He had focused on taijutsu only, pushing Naruto until he was worn through. The prospect of re-connecting with his new friend revitalized Naruto's limbs, however. Off to the side he saw walls with the same symbol as on Hinata and Ko's kimonos. He ran up to a pair of gates with a gatehouse overlooking them, and stoic pale-eyed sentinels standing guard to either side.

Naruto faltered, he hadn't expected to have to approach a fortress! The thought of having a friend, a real friend, emboldened him, though. He took a moment to gather himself, and then squared his shoulders. He marched towards the gates, feeling the same determination he did when he charged into the Hokage's Tower for a tutor. The guards looked at him without a trace of emotion. When he drew within ten feet of the gate, the guards converged on him, stopping him with their hands outstretched.

"Hold and declare!" The left guard said firmly. "What is your business with the Hyuuga clan?" The right guard said firmly. Naruto, of course, was thrown for a loop with this. What were they talking about? "Um, what?" Was his intelligent reply. "Is, uh, is Hinata-san here? Oh, umm, Hinata-sama I mean." Naruto said, remembering what that Ko twat had called her. The gate guards looked at each other subtly out of the corner of their eyes. The Hyuuga versions of Kotetsu and Izumo communicated without words for a moment.

"Wait here, commoner." Left said, nodding at Right. Right nodded back and moved in front of the gate opening as Left slipped inside. Right stared down at Naruto stoically, making Naruto more and more uneasy. His previously determined self had melted away quickly, leaving a nervous five year old in his place. After what seemed like an eternity to Naruto, Left slipped out of the gate and stood shoulder to shoulder with Right gazing stonily down at Naruto. The two stood there saying nothing, not even twitching a muscle, as Naruto felt more and more uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Left spoke when Naruto was about to break and run. "Come with me. Don't speak unless spoken to, and do not deviate from the path I set." Left said authoritatively. He turned and marched inside. Naruto gulped audibly and followed his now-silent guide apprehensively. He kept on Left's heels and kept his head down, trying not to anger his guide. This also meant that he didn't notice Left hiding Naruto's small form from casual sight behind Left's taller form. They glided among corridors until Naruto felt a meaty hand lightly touch his shoulder.

Naruto looked up to see a traditional sliding door. Left called out respectfully "Hinata-sama, I bring a visitor, if you please." The door slid open and both Naruto and Hinata were equally stunned to see each other. In comical unison, they turned towards the guard. "Is that how you greet a guest, Lady Hinata?" Left asked. Hinata "eep"ed and bowed low. "W-Welcome, p-please come inside." Hinata managed to get out before she scuttled back inside her room. Left guided Naruto in with a hand on his shoulder. Naruto entered Hinata's room and looked around.

It was fairly spartan, with a comfortable looking bed, two bedside tables, a writing desk, a closet, and a bookshelf. There was a small chest against the far wall, with a large bay window and a seating area underneath the window. The writing desk had a vase of flowers next to a picture of a smiling woman that resembled Hinata with a tall, long haired man, with formal robes and pupil-less eyes. He had a smile on a face that looked like it was unused to such an expression.

Left took up a position next to the door, unmoving. Hinata was standing in the middle of her room, blushing madly and staring at her feet. Nervously, she tried to break the awkward silence, "T-thank you a-again for w-what you did y-yesterday. A-are you f-feeling b-better Naruto-san?" Hinata asked quietly. "Huh? Oh, yeah, don't worry about me. It'll take more than that to keep me down, dattebayo!" Naruto declared with a big smile. Hinata and Naruto then lapsed back into an uncomfortable silence. Naruto shuffled his feet, unsure of what to do next. "Um, Hinata-san? I just wanted to come ask you something…" he trailed off nervously. Shuffling towards her, Naruto said "Um, did you mean what you said? Do you still want to be friends?" Naruto asked. He dared to peek up at Hinata, surprised to see her turning a bright red. "Hinata!" He cried, rushing to her side "are you alright? Are you sick?" Naruto put the back of his hand to Hinata's forehead.

This proved too much for the Hyuuga heiress, and she fainted. "Hinata!" Naruto turned to Left. "Help her!" Naruto demanded. Unexpectedly, Naruto was treated to a rare sight. Left started chuckling, a rich baritone that then turned into a deep gale of laughter. "It's alright, Naruto-san. She will be fine." Left said chuckling, as he gently picked Hinata up and placed her in bed. "Come Naruto-san, it is time. You must go." Left said as he guided Naruto out, once again hiding the blonde's form behind his taller one.

At the gate, a very confused Naruto looked up at the two guards. "We were pleased to hear about what you did for Hinata-sama. You won't be welcome here at the compound again though, Naruto-san." Right said sadly. Left then spoke up "but we will try to make sure that Hinata-sama will have opportunities to see you again. In the park, perhaps? Taking her to the Academy and back, maybe?" Naruto was still lost. "But, will we be friends or not? Who're you? What's going on?" Naruto asked in frustration.

Left put a hand to his chest and bowed "Forgive me, Naruto-san, I am Cho." "Forgive me, Naruto-san, I am Po" Right echoed simultaneously. The two looked to Naruto expectedly. "We wish you to be friends with Hinata-sama, but the clan would not like it because you are a commoner in their eyes." Po explained. "Still, we think you are good for her, and will help where we can." Cho said.

"For now, why don't you run on home Naruto-san? We will try to see that Hinata-sama is at the park later tomorrow" Po said, as he nudged Naruto away from the compound. "Umm, o-ok. See you tomorrow, I guess. I have training in the morning though! So I can't go then!" Naruto stated firmly. "It's ok Naruto-san, so does Hinata-sama. We're talking about later in the day. She needs a friend, Naruto-san. Are you up to the task?" Cho asked firmly, with a strange glint to his eye.

"Um, I think so… She really wants to be my friend?" Naruto hated the desperation that crawled into his question. "Yes, Naruto-san. And so do we." Po said kindly. Naruto looked up at him hopefully "Really? Do you mean it?" Po laid a hand on Naruto's head and smiled slightly. "Yes, Naruto. We mean it. Run along now, and keep this our little secret" Po winked as he ruffled Naruto's hair. Still confused, Naruto ran off towards his apartment, the hope for true friends inside the village burning inside him.

Cho turned to Po with a steely gaze. "You go too far, too fast." "No my friend, the Kami guide me, and I go at their pace" came the serene reply. Cho's snort ripped through the afternoon air. "Well, fine. Anyway, you should have seen them together" Cho replied. He then proceeded to regale Po with the details of Naruto's visit. They both knew that if the Main Branch sniffed out their rebellious notions, it would be very, very bad for both of them. But when Cho reached the point in his story when Hinata fainted, they both had the same thought " _completely worth it"._

The next day saw Naruto just leaving Ichiraku's, full and refreshed from Genma-sensei's earlier training session. Genma had let Naruto go early when he learned that Naruto was to meet up with a friend at the park. As he traveled towards the park, Naruto continuously cursed himself for a fool, and argued with himself repeatedly as his feet traitorously carried him towards the park. He knew, just _knew_ that he was setting himself up for disappointment. He arrived at a chilly, near-empty park. Naruto chose to sit crosswise on an unoccupied swing on the more deserted side of the park. Crossing his arms on the rope support, he hid his pained gaze against his forearms. " _I'm so stupid, no one's coming. What was I thinking?"_ Naruto's rare pity-party was interrupted by a chipper, girlish voice.

"Hey! What're you doing here? Do you want to swing? I want to swing" the bubbly voice broke through Naruto's despair as he lifted his head to see a brightly smiling, platinum blonde haired girl with luminous blue eyes. Naruto was surprised to see that she had gotten so close to him. She then got into his personal space "Hey, are those whisker marks? Call I call you Mittens? He was my cat that died. C'mon Mittens, let's play." The gob smacked boy could only gape as he allowed himself to be pulled behind the swing next to him. "I'm Ino, by the way. Ino Yamanaka, so glad to meet you! Now push!" Ino introduced herself/ commanded.

Ino hooted with laughter as Naruto started to push her purely on instinct. As Ino continued to laugh, Naruto got more and more into it. He was surprised when a laugh escaped his own mouth. Naruto caught sight of a blonde man out of the corner of his eye. His head whipped around " _He's one of-"_ Naruto's thought process was interrupted by Ino's posterior making contact with his cheekbone, knocking him flush to the ground.

Ino ground to halt using her feet. She popped out of her seat and checked on her new friend. "Mittens! Mittens! Are you ok?" Ino asked, shaking Naruto. Naruto recovered quickly. "Sure" he proclaimed with a huge smile and a thumb's up. "Hey, are you alright?" The deep voice surprised Naruto and he spun to come face to face with the blonde man from the bench. "Uh… uh. Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I'm ok." Naruto stammered out, while Ino watched confused. "What's wrong, Mittens? This is my otou-sama! He's really, really nice. Oh, let's go pick daisies!" Ino cried before running towards the open field next to the park. Naruto flinched at the deep-throated chuckle coming from the blonde man.

"Listen, Naruto-san, I realize that you might be a little wary of me after the… when we invited you over to… Anyway, I just want you to know that I am happy to see you, and I'm glad that you're getting along with my daughter. I would like you two to become friends. Please. Just… give it a chance, I won't stand in your way, ok?" Inoichi felt a pang of guilt when he noticed Naruto flinch and shy away from the hand that he placed on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto stood looking down, his hair shadowing his eyes.

"I heard you." Inoichi started "what? What did you say, Naruto?" Inoichi asked, not having understood what he meant. "I said I HEARD YOU!" Naruto yelled, his fists tight at his sides, as he fought back tears. "I heard you. Someone just like you said that I was a monster, that you hoped I would KILL MYSELF!" Naruto screamed, the tears starting to fall. Inoichi's hand tightened almost painfully on his shoulder as the older man grabbed Naruto's other shoulder to make him face Inoichi fully.

"Naruto. NARUTO! Please, listen to me, I don't know which one of my clansman said such a horrible, terrible thing. I don't, but I swear to you that that's not the way of it. I would never, never, EVER say that you should kill yourself." At this, Inoichi's grip grew tighter "Naruto, please. Please promise me that you'll never even think of doing such a thing!" Naruto just stood there, dumbstruck. Inoichi shook him almost violently "Naruto, promise me!" Naruto was taken aback by the fervor in the man's voice.

"Uh, oh, ok? I promise? Please, just let me go" Naruto whimpered. Inoichi relaxed his grip on Naruto. "I apologize Naruto, I didn't mean to frighten you. It just scared me quite a bit when you said you should kill yourself. Don't ever think that way again, ok?" Inoichi released Naruto and shuffled a step back. "I'm sorry, I just don't want you to get hurt, alright?" Inoichi stared at Naruto, willing the tense child to believe him.

Naruto finally looked up, tentative hope filling his eyes. "Do you mean it? Do you really mean it?" Naruto got out. "Yes, I mean it Naruto-kun" Inoichi said soothingly. "Why don't you go play with Ino-chan?" Inoichi asked, pointing at his daughter who was watching them in nervous confusion. _"Well, a bit of a rocky start, but I'm sure Ino-chan will work her magic on the poor boy"_ Inoichi thought as he watched the two scamper around the park.

Footsteps crunching on the gravel path behind him made Inoichi turn. He was surprised to see two Branch House Hyuugas with the young heiress. "Greetings, Inoichi-sama" the elder Hyuugas said in unison, bowing. Hinata jumped a little as she had been busy scanning the park for a small blonde. "G-Greetings, I-Inoichi-sama" she said. Inoichi just smiled and pointed off to his left. "He's over there, Lady Hinata." Hinata blushed bright red and shuffled off, her head down in embarrassment.

Inoichi watched her go for a moment before turning to her guards. "Cho-san and Po-san isn't it? Isn't Ko-san her usual caretaker?" He didn't miss the quick glance that was exchanged between the two. "Ko-sama is unavailable, at present" Cho said. "He is recovering from a rigorous spar with Lord Hiashi, Inoichi-sama" Po added. "Ah" was all Inoichi said as he returned to his seat to keep an eye on the playing children. He was glad to see Naruto and Ino run up to the hesitant Hinata, and get her to play with them. A comfortable silence fell among the three men, as they simply watched the children play.

 **SANCTUARY- DOCKS**

Ryuusuke stepped onto the dock, taking in the sight of his expanded home. Looking to his left, he saw that Sanctuary had absorbed the tiny village that once neighbored it. He could see that several new piers had been added, which meant many more boats had been constructed. In the few years he'd been gone, the town of Sanctuary had grown considerably. The rocks forming the breakwater had been replaced with an impressively high wall the protected the bay. It also extended onto the beach to link up with the wall that had been raised around the town.

As Ryuusuke hefted the large sealing scroll holding his belongings, he let eyes wander as he gladly took in the sights of his home. He stopped dead when caught sight of a familiar form.

She had red hair gathered at the back of her head in a pony tail that reached the middle of her shoulder blades. Mesh armor that covered her torso and the entirety of her right arm. It clinked a bit as she moved, shifting under the black T- shirt she wore with the Uzumaki swirl in red right below the oval cutout in both shirt and armor that exposed some her impressive bust. Add to that tight blood red leather pants endings in knee high dark leather boots, and this was a woman that naturally turned heads in any situation.

Ryuusuke was stunned. "Hidoki…" he whispered. His heart clenched, it always did when he saw her. It reminded him of what he had lost.

Hidoki Uzumaki was lost in thought as she absently gazed at some abalone shell jewelry laid out in front of her. The kiosk's owner was rambling on, but her mind was consumed with the fact that Ryuusuke was supposed to arrive back home soon. She couldn't help the images that kept rolling through her mind. The memories that she had tried so hard to bury. Ryuusuke had been her closest friend. She was sure that it was going to be more than that.

One day, just over three years ago, he had asked her to come to his home. He had said he had a surprise for her. But, when she walked into his home, she was shocked to discover two teen-aged women all over him. He had lipstick kiss marks all over his face and neck, and one teen had the top of her kimono shrugged off around her waist, with Ryuusuke's hands on her breasts. The other even had her hand down his pants! The pain, the jealousy, the anger, she could feel each emotion just as strongly as that night.

Suddenly, she felt another's gaze on her and she turned towards the docks. She saw a young man who had obviously just got off a boat.

He was an imposing sight, towering over most people at 6'2" with a muscular physique and short, spiky red hair. But his most intimidating features were the jagged, curving scar starting just above his left brow and ending at his left jaw; and the intricate array of seals hidden in the tattoos decorating his entire torso. He exploited this by wearing a standard red Uzumaki jounin flak jacket with leather shoulder armor, leaving it open to show off his muscular physique. Combined with the crimson cargo pants and black combat boots, he cut an impressive figure.

Hidoki couldn't help the way her heart rose with joy "Ryuu-kun…?" She whispered. She immediately felt torn. She was glad he was back, but he had left her so suddenly. And what about that night? Was she just supposed to forget it? Was there even a chance between them anyway? What had happened during the long three years he was away? What was she to him?

Ryuusuke was floored as memories of the night he was going to finally confess his feelings to Hidoki came rushing back. He had been fussing around at home, putting the final touches on the dinner he had laid out. He had perked up when there was a knock on the door, even though Hidoki usually just walked in. When he had opened the door, he had been surprised to find two lovely civilian girls his own age dressed in formal kimonos. They had pounced on him as soon as he opened the door. Smiling seductively, they had breathed husky promises into his ear.

He had only vaguely recognized these two, thinking they may be the Slinking Cat Sisters, as some of the boys called them. They came from the Hiyafuda family, and were known to try and seduce wealthy and influential men. Such as the protégé of the Uzumaki Clan Head, widely believed to become his successor. They were undeniably pretty, with exotically slanted, dark brown eyes, and flowing onyx hair. Ryuusuke had never had much exposure to flirting. He had been absorbed with training, fuinjutsu, and becoming a serious shinobi. So he had been very flustered as the two alternated kissing him on the face and neck.

He blushed at the memory of the things they were saying, and one had even shoved her hand down his pants, curling it around his treacherously hardening member. At this he had raised his hands defensively, telling them to stop and leave. He had been unwilling to throw them out physically, and wanted to just slow everything down. That had backfired spectacularly when the other sister had simply shrugged off her kimono and grabbed Ryuusuke's hands, placing them on her breasts.

And at that perfectly disastrous moment, he had heard the door open and watched Hidoki walk in. The pain on seeing her bright smile fade, pain and betrayal filling her eyes. It stung him even now just as strongly as it did then, the obvious pain that filled her face. She had fled into the night, crying. Ryuusuke had had no qualms about throwing the two minxes out then, but too little, too late.

He slowly willed his leaden body to move forward when he saw Hidoki recognize him. What was he going to say? Did she still hate him? Could she have moved on, found somebody new. A new, fresh pain ripped through Ryuusuke at the thought of Hidoki with someone else. But what did he expect? He had left her for three long years. She was a talented, beautiful young woman. He had seen how other boys had looked at her. Would she even consider being his friend again?

When Ryuusuke had started moving forward, it had jolted Hidoki out of her stupor. She moved forward automatically. Then stopped, hesitating, then moving forward again. When the two met, there was an awkward, heavy silence. Neither could think of anything to say. "Uh, hello Hidoki" Ryuusuke said, not believing he had the right to call her Doki-chan like he used to. Hidoki twitched and said "Welcome home Ryuusuke" while looking at her feet. " _What is wrong with me? Why can't I look him in the face? Why can't I just talk to him? You're a strong kunoichi, kamidamn it! Show some backbone!"_ Hidoki thought.

Ryuusuke sighed thinking that she was still so mad at him, she couldn't even look him in the face. " _Well, hell, what did I expect? I ran away like a little bitch, didn't I? I should've stayed. I should've fought for her no matter how many times she looked at me hurt and angry."_ Ryuusuke berated himself. "I'm uh, glad to be back. Um, thanks." " _Oh, real smooth idiot. I'm sure she'll just fall into your arms now!"_ "I, uh, I see the town's gotten big" Ryuusuke got out, immediately wanting to smack himself in the forehead. " _What is wrong with me? Apologize! I need to tell her how I missed her!"_

Hidoki looked up at him, her heart beating a little faster when she looked at his scar. Her heart always did that since he had received that scar because of her. But she still couldn't find the words to let out her tumultuous emotions. "Uh, yeah. We even took in the village next to us." Hidoki said, immediately wanting to kick herself. " _Just tell him. Tell you found out about those slinking slut sisters! Tell him you're not mad at him!"_ "Ryuusuke…" Hidoki said before the memory of that night flashed through her mind's eye unbidden. Ryuusuke caught the flash of anguish that rushed across her face. He sighed heavily.

" _She's still hurting. I can't believe what I did to her. Maybe she will at least stoop to being my friend again"_ Ryuusuke thought guiltily. "Um, Hidoki? Can we be friends?" Ryuusuke asked fearfully. Hidoki flinched. " _Friends? Did he find someone? Does he not want me? Well, he never did say he actually wanted me anyway. I have no idea what he wanted that night, and I never let him talk to me before he left."_ Hidoki thought dejectedly. "Umm… friends, sure. Yeah, fine." Hidoki said lowly before turning away from him and walking towards Ashara's house. "Come on, I'm sure Ashara-sama wants to see you" Hidoki said as she walked off.

" _Well, at least that's something. I guess she doesn't completely hate me"_ Ryuusuke thought ruefully. Sighing again, he shuffled after her. " _So good to be home"_ he thought morosely.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Well, that's a wrap. This chapter fought me at first, but I ended up limiting myself to a little over 10k words. Next chapter will be up soon, I promise. I sincerely thank you all for your support. All reviews will be welcome, positive or otherwise.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N-** I just want to thank everybody for hanging in there for the first three chapters. _Especially_ the third chapter, I know the pace was slow and the chapter dragged. But now, I feel that the board has been set and I can start moving the pieces.

 ***DISCLAIMER- I DON'T OWN NARUTO*- It's Kishimoto's playground, I'm just knocking kids off the monkey bars.**

 **LAND OF HOT WATER- PORT CITY OF KOSAKIRI**

Mirobu sighed heavily as his wagon rumbled its way down the road. To either side of him were two very irate females, arms crossed and facing away from him. Mirobu had just told Miyuki and Midori that they had to return to Sanctuary. He had put off telling them as long as he could, but he had been forced to when he turned east towards Kosakiri, instead of south towards Konoha. He knew how they felt, he was distraught that he couldn't go back to Konoha and visit Naruto. The other merchants had just shrugged and waved when he said he needed to leave the caravan to pick up some merchandise.

His orders aside, he knew that now was not a good time to be in Konoha anyway. When the caravan had left Konoha, Mirobu had noticed the caravan had ninja shadowing them. His family, in particular, had been under heavy scrutiny. This had never happened before, and the only explanation was meeting Naruto. Without his training, Mirobu was certain he would have never been able to glimpse the ninjas in white masks who followed all the way to Fire country's border with Land of Rivers.

He had been very anxious to return to Sanctuary and report, possibly getting some aid to Naruto if it turned out he was actually an Uzumaki. Although Mirobu wasn't certain how Ashara-sama would react, given his lingering resentment towards Konoha for failing to help prevent the Fall. The very reason the refugees from Uzushio had fled to Rice instead of Konoha was the distrust the Clan Head had had of Konoha's motives.

Looking at his wife and daughter, Mirobu sighed again. This was going to be a long trip.

 **LAND OF WAVE- DOCKS**

Mira was walking along the docks, seemingly unaware of the many leers she was receiving as she ventured deep into the Undercuts territory. She had switched out her white leggings for a tight, tan mini skirt that was barely long enough to preserve her decency. She had also switched to heeled boots that came up to mid-calf, showing off her toned legs and well-rounded rear end as she strutted down the wharf. Mira sashayed past a group of a half dozen Undercut enforcers standing guard at a shipping warehouse entrance.

The thugs grinned at each other before quickly following after the leggy teen. "Oi Nobu, look at them legs go all the way up and make an ass out of themselves" one remarked, elbowing the brute next to him. The ruffians all laughed uproariously. "Yeah Korun, those legs would make great ear muffs!" Nobu replied, to more laughter.

Mira walked down a side street for a bit before spinning around to face the ogling brutes. She cocked out a hip, placing a hand on it while giving them a sexy smirk. "Ara ara, all you boys here to play with little old me? I'm flattered." She then placed a finger on her chin with a cute pout. "I'm not sure I can take on all four of you, though." Her words took a moment to sink in as the thugs looked at each other, noticing two were missing.

"Where's Seito and Bunta?" Korun asked. "Are these them?" a voice from above asked, just before two bodies came crashing down next to the thugs. Blood sprayed the four frozen men as they stared at the two garroted corpses. They looked up just in time to avoid a few half-heartedly thrown shuriken. "Hey, it's that guy! The redhead boss wants to kill!" Nobu cried out.

On the roof of the building next to them, was a grinning Gokuru. He turned to Mira with a small bow, and said "Ladies first." Mira did a slight mock curtsy in amusement as she unsealed her chakram blades from seals on her wrists. The circular blades had a wicked looking edge, and thin chains attached to leather bracers. Slipping the bracers on, she gave a devilish smile to the four confused and nervous men.

"Oh, you're such a gentleman, Gokuru-tan. I think maybe I can take you boys on after all." Mira laughed before rushing them. Her initial strike opened one fool's throat before they could even respond. The three survivors jumped back, struggling to get their weapons out.

Korun shouted "Nobu get the others, we'll hold them" before slashing at Mira with his katana. Gokuru let Nobu run away as he jumped down to engage the other thug. The desperate man gave a heavy overhead chop with an iron studded club. Gokuru parried it to his left with a kunai, while sliding to his right. He stepped up and delivered a roundhouse kick to the thug's ribs, sending him crashing to the opposite wall. As the ruffian sat dazed for a moment, a kunai lodged itself in his forehead.

Gokuru looked over to Mira as she danced around Korun, gracefully blocking his wild swings. "Mira hurry up! The rest will be here soon. Quit toying with him!" Gokuru ordered. Mira pouted before ducking under a vicious horizontal cut and slicing Korun from crotch to collarbone as she straightened.

Mira looked at the body at her feet. "How many times are they going to fall for the same trap? We've been doing this for days" she laughed. "Well, this should be the final holdout, I think. After we eliminate the Undercuts, then the Redwater shouldn't last much longer. After all, they did do a decent job of killing each other" Gokuru replied.

They looked up at the sound of running feet. About twenty feet away was a large group of heavily armed gangsters. The crowd parted to admit a short man, who was heavily muscled despite his small height. All the hair on his head had apparently migrated south to his big, bushy beard. He carried a wicking looking axe. "You two have been making life very hard on me and my boys. That's going to end today. You made the mistake of pulling your little stunt right next to our headquarters, and now you're going to pay for it. In fact, the little girl there is going to be paying us back for days" the leader finished lecherously.

The two Uzumaki looked on curiously as the stout man pulled out a signal flare and fired it into the air. "I've got a bad feeling about this, blow it Gokuru!" Mira cried. Gokuru put his hands in a seal. The gangsters started to charge when explosive tags erupted under their feet, killing most of them.

A cloaked figure shot out of the smoke cloud, discarding his smoldering cloak. He had a black uniform with a white sash that came over his left shoulder and wrapped around his abdomen. Black shinobi pants ended wrapped in red bandages above standard shinobi sandals. He was dark-skinned with a Kumogakure hitai-ate that had a slash through the village symbol.

"Shit! A nuke-nin!" Gokuru cursed. He started to run through hand signs but the missing ninja finished his attack first. An arc of lightning ran forward from the nuke-nin's fist toward Gokuru, forcing him and Mira to dive away. Mira shot forward, hoping to catch the man off guard with her blades. Her opponent bobbed and weaved her initial slashes long enough to draw two kunai. Holding them in a reverse grip, he was able to start parrying and blocking her chakram.

"Fuuton: Gale Palm" Gokuru cried out, thrusting his palm at the nuke-nin. The vortex that rushed forward only damaged a stack of crates as the intended target jumped back, sticking to the wall behind him with chakra. As the nuke-nin started forming hand signs, Mira snapped her hands forward throwing her chakram at him. The nuke-nin abandoned his attack and flipped forward over the blades, landing a jump kick into Mira's chest. Mira flew backwards, chakram blades dragged along after by their chains, to slam hard against the wall behind her.

Before the missing ninja could capitalize on his attack, Gokuru unsealed his katana and ran forward. He sliced at the space in between Mira and her attacker. "Fuuton: Dust Wind" Gokuru cried, creating a mini-cyclone in front of Mira. A D-ranked jutsu, it didn't do much damage but it was quick. It swept up dirt and debris in the area, blocking the missing-nin's vision long enough for Mira to recover. Gokuru spun just in time to block a sword strike that would've taken his head off. Gokuru pushed the sword wielding thug back and disemboweled him.

This took just long enough for the nuke-nin to get to Gokuru and slash at his neck with a kunai. Gokuru managed to parry the lethal strike into a painful cut on his left shoulder. "Mira, mop up the trash!" Gokuru yelled before striking out at the nuke-nin. He didn't get a reply, but the screams coming from behind him were enough. His split attention earned him a hard knee strike to the stomach. Instinctively, Gokuru rolled off the knee and to the side as a fist holding a kunai whooshed by his head.

Sparing a quick glance, Gokuru could see Mira finishing off the last two gangsters. He then pressed his attack, slashing and slicing from multiple angles to keep the nuke-nin's attention squarely on his blade. Finally, the jutsu he had been waiting for appeared. "Suiton: Water Whips" Mira declared as tendrils of water ensnared the nuke-nin long enough for Gokuru to run him through. Panting, Gokuru checked on Mira who was favoring her ribs. The sound of boots on wood heralded the arrival of the last of the Redwater Teeth.

A tall, lean man sneered at the legless body of the Undercut leader. "Hah! You two did me a favor there" he sneered, pointing at the corpse. "But, I'm still going to have to gut you for all the grief you've given me. Especially forcing me to ally with that bearded bastard. Kill 'em!" He ordered.

Gokuru groaned as he started some hand signs, Mira doing the same next to him. "Fuuton: Great Breakthrough" "Suiton: Giant Vortex" The two techniques combined creating a violent tornado of water that plowed into the center of the oncoming mob. Gokuru and Mia took a moment to recover. Suddenly, Mira spotted a pair of crossbowmen that had been placed in the back to provide support. At the last second, she pushed Gokuru out of the way of an oncoming quarrel. Unfortunately, the next one lodged itself in her shoulder. The two Uzumakis crouched to leap back up to the rooftops to gain a breather.

As they leapt, Gokuru threw a kunai at the crossbowmen with an explosive tag attached, hoping for some luck. When the screams ended they peeked over the roof's edge, relieved to see only lifeless bodies. They were breathing heavily after using such a powerful jutsu combination. "Well… that could have gone better" Gokuru said simply, getting a dirty look from Mira. "This is your fault! If you hadn't had to be a hero, not to mention tell people you were an Uzumaki, we could have had time to get some back up. Finished this in one night. This was only supposed to be a scouting mission when Ashara-sama sent us here!" She grit her teeth and ripped out the quarrel in her shoulder.

Gokuru took out a roll of bandages and started working on her wound. "You're right, Mira. I'm sorry. At least Ashara-sama let us take care of these scum, and we're still alive. Maybe there's even a decent bounty for the nuke-nin!" Mira just stood up grumbling. "Yeah maybe. Get his head, and let's go." Gokuru hopped down to retrieve the nuke-nin's head. After sealing it away, they walked off to return to the inn.

 **KONOHA- 2 MONTHS LATER- AKIMICHI COMPOUND**

Naruto had his hands on his knees, panting from sparring with Choza Akimichi. Genma-sensei had brought Naruto to meet Choza, Genma's genin sensei, after he had realized that Naruto had the mentality of a frontline brawler from their taijutsu spars. So Genma had figured that the Akimichi grappling style might help him. He planned to take Naruto to the Inuzuka Compound next, now that Tsume had found out about the Tora incident. She had had Naruto clean the entire kennels for two weeks as penance, then let it go.

Choza was hoping that Naruto's eagerness to learn, along with his freakish stamina, would push his son Choji to further his own training. Choza liked Shikamaru, and appreciated the Nara boy becoming his son's first real friend, but he remembered having to motivate Shikaku when they were younger. Choji isn't as assertive as Choza is, and Ino isn't into training as much as her father was at that age. Which worried Choza as he looked to Choji, who was sitting off to the side recovering from his earlier sparring.

"Alright Naruto, let's break for lunch, and then we'll get back to ninjutsu training. I expect you to have that D-ranked Suiton jutsu down by the end of the week." Genma called out before walking over the lunch that Chiyumi had been nice enough to lay out under the shade of a nearby tree. Naruto had been a little reluctant at first when he had recognized where he was being taken by Genma, but the Akimichis had convinced him they hadn't felt insulted by his earlier outburst.

After lunch, Genma and Naruto thanked the Akimichis before heading back to training ground nine. As they walked through the village, Genma studied Naruto out of the corner of his eye. Naruto's demeanor was more relaxed and confident since he had met first Naruto. Genma appreciated how hard Naruto worked; he was a capable pupil, very driven and goal oriented. However Genma did have to hold Naruto's wandering attention throughout his lessons, and keep him focused whenever Naruto felt he was improving too slowly.

Once they reached the training ground, Genma laid out the new training schedule he was going to give Naruto until he joined the Academy. Mornings would be exercise and taijutsu. Mid-day would be weapons practice, and afternoons would be chakra control and ninjutsu, finishing the day with more conditioning. Genma had learned very early on that Naruto could and would train all day, so he pushed Naruto hard with 8 or 9, sometimes 10 hour days of training. He made sure that Naruto took his one rest day a week seriously, so he wouldn't injure his growing body.

Genma at times felt like his old teammate Guy had rubbed off on him, but Genma wouldn't have considered this kind of training regimen for any other kid Naruto's age. Genma was determined to use the healing boost that Naruto received from his tenant to the fullest. He had been surprised with how quickly Naruto had picked up the Transformation and Substitution techniques, although he was having trouble with the Clone technique.

"Tomorrow, we'll head to the Inuzuka's compound, they and the Akimichis seem to be the ones who will help you the most since you favor taijutsu at the moment. I think Tsume-sama even has a son your age, and it is good to build relationships with the clans, Mr. Future Hokage" Genma smirked, before his face drew into a frown. "The Uchihas would've been perfect to improve your ninjutsu skills, but relations between them and the village are pretty bad right now. Not to mention how arrogant they can be… but anyway, I'm getting off track. Start your cool down exercises, and then we're done for today."

After training was finished, Naruto decided to try going by the Yamanaka flower shop to see if he could help Ino with something. She had sparked an interest in gardening within Naruto after they had started to become friends. Sometimes he could earn a potted plant or other supplies by helping around the shop. Plus, he liked chatting with the perky blonde girl. He always took the long way to pass by the Hyuuga Compound just in case he might run into Hinata, or be able to get some news of her from Cho or Po. But when he walked by, all he could see were two guards he didn't recognize. He just shrugged and walked off to the Yamanaka's.

 **MEANWHILE- SANCTUARY- ASHARA'S OFFICE**

Ashara had gathered four of his more powerful ninjas: Poyu, Yokino, Hidoki, and Ryuusuke. He was always amazed when he saw Poyu. 7' tall and 275 lbs., he had hands big enough and strong enough to crush a man's skull. But he also had the temperament of a shy, virginal shrine maiden… Except… except that one time. All Uzumaki have a temper, it runs in the blood. All have a temper, but each Uzumaki has a differing length of fuse to that temper. Most were short-fused and spout off at any little thing, but blow through their anger just as quickly. A few have long fuses and when they are finally angered, it is a sight to see. The longer the fuse, the worse the explosion.

Poyu has an incredible amount of patience, and is very forgiving. A long, incredibly slow burning fuse. He never took any slight to heart long enough for it to matter. His fuse never stayed lit long enough to ignite. Except once. Except one terrible, horrific time when the gods themselves must have trembled. On that day, Poyu proved a concrete truth of the world. Don't. Fuck. With an Uzumaki.

Ashara shook himself out of his introspection, and concentrated on the matters at hand. "I have called you four here because I believe it is time to begin contacting other villages and testing the waters for alliances" Ashara said before turning to Poyu. "Poyu I want you to take Yokino, and head to Takigakure. I think you can establish good relations with their new leader Shibuki, due to your gentle nature. I believe they also recently acquired a new jinchuuriki, see if you can verify that. Here are your mission parameters, take care of yourselves and check in regularly. Dismissed" Ashara said, handing Poyu a scroll. Both he and Yokino bowed and silently left.

Ashara turned to Ryuusuke. "Before I issue any orders, I have to ask. Is the hatchet buried between you two?" Hidoki spoke up quickly. "Yes Ashara-sama. We are pretty much back to the same before Ryuu-kun left for his mission." Ashara was gratified to hear Hidoki call his apprentice by Ryuusuke's old affectionate nickname. "Good, you two were one of the most in sync partnerships in the village once. This is an important mission and that synergy will be welcome. If you succeed, we may be able to find an ally in Sunagakure." Ashara paused to let that sink in. "So does that mean you're ordering Dark Tides, Ashara-sensei? So soon?" Ryuusuke asked, surprised.

Ashara scowled "Well apparently, Gokuru's little slip about his heritage brought a bit too much scrutiny to Wave. We're going to abandon our plans there for at least a couple years. There was a new type of hunter, one we haven't seen before, working for Iwa. Gokuru and Mira barely managed to finish their mission and get out before Iwa and Kumo hunters swarmed the area. There were also a pair of Kusagakure hunters sniffing around. Kusa is trying to get in Iwa's good graces, so they're hostile to us as well. Kusa may be allied with Konoha, but they double deal with everyone, and will sell us out in a heartbeat. I want the trail from Wave to grow as cold as possible, before we move in the region again. Meanwhile, we might as well aim for relations with the only Great Village to not attack us or betray us."

Ryuusuke nodded "It will take some time to gain enough influence with Suna for them to accept an envoy from us, especially with the construction setbacks with Himitsu. I still haven't been able to create that seal for the underwater access of ships. Dark Tides will delay my research." Ashara mulled this over before stating firmly "We need to put things in motion. We have been able to hide here in Rice, but with Sanctuary's and the Namikaze's economic successes, too much attention will be brought upon us soon. Wheels are turning all over, we must move fast or be crushed beneath them."

"Don't worry, Ashara-sama, we'll get it done." Hidoki stated firmly. "We'll just have to make Suna listen to us, whether we have our hidden village completed or not." Ryuusuke smiled at her conviction and resolved to not let his people down.

Ashara grinned as well, before handing them each a mission scroll. "Take care then, and do your best to resolve this quickly. Be advised there is a substantial sum of money allocated to you both. You can use it for bribes or equipment, whatever you need, but be on the lookout for any valuable land you can get. Timber and mineral heavy areas to improve Himitsu's progress are vital. This will be your secondary mission, but we also need more land to build outposts for Rip Tide to operate out of safely as well. More information nodes, so that our agents don't have to travel as far to relay sensitive information." Ashara said gravely.

Both Ryuusuke and Hidoki nodded at the mention of the Uzumaki's spy network. Meticulously built over the last decade and a half, Rip Tide's relentless expansion and acquisition of new contacts meant that the trained agents were forced to oversee larger and larger areas. Sensitive information could be valuable for only a short time, and thus had to processed and delivered quickly. The training for a Rip Tide agent was at least a year and a half, but the net of contacts was growing much more quickly than new agents could be trained, much less recruited and vetted.

Ryuusuke and Hidoki marched out to pack for their mission. Ashara turned to stare out his bay window at the sprawling village of Sanctuary. The mention of Rip Tide brought the report on Konoha to the forefront of Ashara's mind. He had been procrastinating about dealing with the information Mirobu had given him, but he knew he could put it off no longer. He needed to send a ninja to assess the situation and avoid the white masked shinobi that had taken two of his contacts, and had almost taken Mirobu, one of his best analysts in Rip Tide.

The decision troubled him, but he tried to rationalize it. He told himself that the Uzumaki weren't feared anymore, and that the Leaf should not feel threatened by an Uzumaki "wanderer". Finally, irritated by his own vacillating, Ashara came to a decision. " _Well, this could be a chance for him to make amends, and to prove he can keep his mouth shut when needed_ " Ashara thought.

Gokuru had remained firmly in the doghouse after the Wave debacle, more so in Mira's case than Ashara's though. He had been coming by the Clan Head's office regularly recently, hoping to find a way back into Ashara's good graces (also hoping for another Wave mission so he could see Kajumi). Ashara hoped that Gokuru had gotten his Hero complex satisfied, since he knew that Gokuru corresponded with this Kajumi girl regularly. Ashara planned for Gokuru to pave the way for Kennosuke-kun, whom Ashara intended to appoint Ambassador to the Leaf, while his brother worked on Suna.

If Mirobu's assumptions were correct, then the Uzumaki could possibly gain some significant leverage within Konoha. Especially if the construction on Himitsu could be completed in time. Then, the Leaf would have to answer for what happened (or didn't happen, in regards to reinforcements) during the Fall. Smiling to himself, Ashara told his secretary to summon Gokuru. " _With Suna at our side, and the Leaf in our pocket, we could take great strides towards our revenge on the Coalition. The tides of fate are turning, the Uzumaki will rise again."_

 **KONOHA- INUZUKA COMPOUND- AUGUST**

Naruto and Kiba were locked in a heated spar, as Genma and Tsume observed. Kiba had instantly taken to the exuberant blonde when they were introduced. However his innate alpha tendencies, so long suppressed under his domineering mother and sister, had flared up so that he had wanted to be the "top dog" in his friendship with Naruto. This had planted the seeds of a friendly rivalry growing between the two. Of course Naruto proved to be just as stubborn, his pride not allowing him to be second to Kiba.

Naruto had filled out quite well after months of proper nutrition (guided by the iron hand of Chohiku) and regular training with Genma-sensei. Chohiku had changed his eating habits, even strong arming Teuchi to make Naruto eat vegetable dishes before he could have ramen. Between her and Genma, Naruto finally had access to fresh food, and a stable diet. At the expense of a few bullied grocers, of course.

Genma's intense training also had pushed Naruto's already impressive stamina and chakra reserves even higher. He had gotten a better hold over his chakra to a degree, allowing Genma to start introducing more ninjutsu training. Naruto even had an impressive growth spurt, standing a hair taller than Kiba now. All in all the scrawny, starved street urchin had been replaced by a promising youth who was definitely ready to take the Academy by storm in a couple months.

Naruto had even formed some deep friendships with Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Choji, and Shikamaru. Hinata had been allowed much more freedom, now that her mother Hyoko was pregnant with another possible heir. This meant that she could come out in the afternoons more regularly, and meet up with the group forming among the clan heirs. Ino loved having another girl around since she most often had been socializing with Choji and Shikamaru previously. Unfortunately (at least from Naruto's perspective) that also meant that Ko was around a lot more, and relations remained frosty between the two.

Genma had really taken to his first apprentice, and had taken it upon himself to get Naruto an education in the skills necessary for an aspiring Hokage. Naruto's training sessions after his morning workouts were just as often in diplomacy, strategic thinking, differing customs between nations and clans, matters of law, even etiquette, as often training physical skills. Naruto had proved to be an apt student, much to Genma's surprise, soaking up his teachings like a sponge. As long as Genma (or the other tutors Genma brought by) could keep Naruto's attention, he proceeded at a quick pace.

Genma had been surprised until he found out that Naruto had been forced to learn most life skills on his own, even teaching himself to read and write. Genma was proud of his pupil and was actually going to miss the blonde boy when he went to the Academy. Not to mention Naruto kept him entertained with his pranks, since they now featured a lot less graffiti and public destruction, and became more focused on certain civilians who shunned the jinchuuriki.

Genma had also recently realized that Naruto had begun creating a taijutsu style all his own instinctively, after regularly practicing with the Akimichi's grappling styles and the Inuzuka's striking styles. He was looking forward to when Naruto could handle working with his Guy Maito, Konoha's foremost taijutsu expert.

 **LAND OF WATER- SUMMONING ISLAND**

Kennosuke had journeyed to the Summoning Island, looking for a Mantis to seal the Summoning contract. He was accompanied by the twins Kuruken and Kurusen, or Ken and Sen for short. The small party had made camp on a rocky plateau that overlooked a huge, heavily forested valley. Said valley was teeming with animals of unimaginable size and strength.

They had been on this island for several months, and although they had encountered a few Mantises, none had allowed themselves to be captured. Either they fought to the death or escaped. All the while many other species were trying to turn the Uzumakis into lunch. Kennosuke remained cool and unflappable, but the twins were nearing their breaking point. Especially after a rather dangerous attack by a gigantic Moth. Snakes or Spiders were one thing, but being eaten by a Moth was just insulting.

The Uzumaki hunting party had also been tremendously surprised to find they weren't the only people here. A small group of extremely brave (or foolish) scientists had set up a lab here, claiming to study the summoning animals for shinobi from the Land of Dreams. Kennosuke had his doubts about them, but he had decided to investigate them after resolving his Mantis contract situation. The twins were wary of them too, something about the whole thing didn't sit well with the Uzumakis. Especially because they had never heard of Land of Dreams ninja, or the Land of Dreams itself for that matter.

The three of them were currently traveling along the valley's mountainous rim, when Kennosuke suddenly stopped dead. He shaded his eyes as he peered at a large dust cloud that had abruptly erupted. He spotted what seemed to be a supremely powerful Mantis, larger than any other he had hunted so far. He watched, awestruck, as it defended its territory from a mammoth Centipede. He was instantly determined to make that Mantis his first summon, and ventured into the valley to find it.

Problem was the Mantis found him first, before he could set up any containment or trap seals. The Mantis burst from the tree line slashing at the hunting party who dove to the ground just in time. The attack felled many trees, creating an impromptu clearing. Kennosuke yelled out "Suiton: Piercing Water Bullets" and spat oblong, spiraling gobs of water out of his mouth. The watery spheres managed to push the Mantis back, but could not pierce it's thick carapace. Kennosuke immediately ordered Ken and Sen to withdraw and protect the Mantis summoning scroll.

The Mantis was still injured from his battle with the Centipede, so Kennosuke thought this was the best opportunity he was going to get. He needed to dominate the Mantis without killing or maiming it. He spun his staff expertly, as the giant Mantis swiped at him. Left, right, left, left, right, left, right, right, the strikes just kept hammering down on Kennosuke. He dove backward into the thick jungle foliage to gain some space. Concentrating his chakra through the seals on his staff, he activated one of the most powerful jutsus stored within.

"Suiton: Water Chains" Kennosuke cried. The giant Mantis' limbs were ensnared by heavy, thick chains of water. "Finally" Kennosuke said in relief, "throw me the summoning scroll" he cried to the twins. "Watch out Kennosuke-sama!" The Mantis had responded to its imprisonment by putting all its strength into one stab at the one who dared to conquer it. Amazingly, the claw was able to shoot forward towards the Uzumaki hunting party. Kennosuke realized that if he dodged, one of the twins would probably be skewered. He swung his staff up just in time to parry the claw above him, but the massive pressure of the claw's strike sent him flying backwards. Shakily he got to his feet, standing his ground before the imposing insect.

Surprising Ken and Sen, Kennosuke smiled and bowed deeply to his foe. "You are truly a worthy adversary, and I pledge to you that I will respect your strength for as I long as I draw breath" Kennosuke stated, before assuming an offensive stance. "However, I do not intend to lose to you!" Kennosuke cried as he stuck his staff in the earth at his feet. He desperately blurred through hand signs, while activating a seal on his staff that transported sea water from the seal he had placed underwater on the island's shoreline to power his jutsu. "Suiton: Water Dragon!" The giant water construct reared up and smashed against the Mantis pinning it to the rocky cliff behind it. Before the giant insect could recover, Kennosuke had jumped up onto its head, sticking to its carapace with chakra at eyelevel. He jabbed the iron ring of his staff an inch away from its eye. "Yield" came the steely demand.

 **MEANWHILE- KONOHA ACADEMY- NOVEMBER**

Naruto stood at the entrance to the Ninja Academy, with a giddy smile. Genma put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, smiling down at him. "Well gaki, the Hokage had to pull some strings, but the Academy will allow you to enroll late and become an official student here. I don't think that you'll be too far behind though, what with an awesome sensei like me" Genma said, smiling and giving a thumb's up. "But anyway, do your best and try hard. I'm sure you'll do great. You've really grown from that little shrimp who couldn't throw a punch when I first met you" Genma chided, ignoring Naruto's responding indignant squawk.

"Now Naruto-kun, I'm proud of the effort you've put into our training. You've taken the first steps to becoming a fine shinobi. I'm also quite interested in that taijutsu style you've started developing while sparring with the Inuzukas and the Akimichis" Genma said warmly. Naruto looked up in wonder at his sensei when he called him "Naruto-kun" for the first time. He became sheepish at the mention of his new taijutsu style. "It's no style Genma-sensei, I just take what works, and what feels right. I just… react. I don't know how else to say it, really" Naruto admitted.

Genma laughed "and that's how styles are created Naruto-kun. Anyway, I'm going to return to my normal duties now that you're enrolling in the Academy. But, I want you to know that I'll be here if you ever need help. If you can't find me, just ask Hokage-sama, and he'll make sure I find you, ok?" Genma said. "Now, off you go Naruto-kun, make me proud and do your best!" Genma encouraged, giving Naruto a little push.

Surprisingly, Tsume had been the one to take it upon herself to outfit Naruto for the Academy. After he had shown up at a training session with Kiba in an orange jumpsuit eyesore, she had immediately grabbed him by the collar and dragged Naruto to a shinobi outfitting shop. Naruto had ended up with a tan vest with fur lined arm holes over a burnt orange shirt with a black Uzumaki swirl on the front, black cargo shorts, and black shinobi sandals. This was the best she could wrangle out of him, as he had been adamant about the green goggles adorning his forehead, for whatever reason.

Naruto ran towards the entrance, eager to prove himself and be worthy of Genma-sensei's teachings. " _This is it! This is where I start to become Hokage! Watch out jiji, I'm coming for ya, dattebayo!"_ Naruto thought ecstatically.

That excitement waned over the next few months as Naruto quickly became bored with the pace of the classes. Genma-sensei had gone over most of the subject matter they were learning already. Not to mention the teachers treated Naruto like he didn't exist. Ignoring him for the most part, and insulting and degrading him if they deigned to notice him. Naruto just tuned out most of the time, daydreaming about becoming Hokage.

Which the teachers exploited by calling on him when his attention was obviously elsewhere, then deriding in him when he didn't know what the question was. They would purposefully not repeat the question and go straight to mocking him. This gained him a reputation of being somewhat of a moron. The staff were hoping that he would just get the hint and quit, but it just made him all the more determined.

Weeks passed and the weather was at its coldest, spring soon to come. Naruto was trudging to school, since he had skipped too many days recently, and if he accumulated too many absences, he'd be thrown out. The path to being a shinobi lay through the Academy, so he had to put up with it, for now. Picking his head up when he passed through the gate, he noticed Hinata off to the side, obviously waiting for someone.

The one thing that made the Academy bearable was Naruto's friends, so Naruto decided to wander over and wait with her. When she saw him approaching, she started getting redder and redder. " _Huh, I wonder if Hinata is sick?"_ thought Naruto idly. "Ne, Hinata what's up? You waiting for someone?" Naruto called out. Hinata ducked her head down before nodding quickly. "H-Hai, Naruto-kun. I-I was waiting for you" she said quietly. Naruto was pleasantly surprised. "For me? What can I do for you?" he asked. "W-Well, d-do you re-remember when you f-fought those b-bullies for m-me?" she replied. Naruto was confused, since joining his tight circle of friends Hinata had been stuttering less and less, mostly due to Ino and Naruto boosting her confidence. He thought this relapse meant that those bullies had found her again and finished what they had started before.

"Did they mess with you again? I'll teach them to mess with my friends! Where are they?" Naruto declared, fists clenched as he looked around for possible targets. "N-No! No Naruto-kun, t-that's n-not what I-I meant." Blushing like mad, she bent down to pick up a wrapped package that Naruto hadn't noticed sitting behind her.

"I-I felt s-so bad when t-they tore your s-scarf, and I w-wanted to say th-thank you for h-helping me, s-so here." Hinata thrust the package at Naruto while looking anywhere but at his face. Naruto took the brown paper bundle, intrigued. When Hinata still refused to meet his eyes, he shrugged and ripped it open. As the paper fell away, Naruto's jaw dropped in shock. There in his hands was the scarf Miyuki had gave him, repaired, the pieces reattached with red and orange yarn.

Naruto was struck speechless and his hands tightened around the scarf as tears threatened to fall. Hinata finally looked up at Naruto face and immediately misinterpreted the look on his face. Thinking she had done something wrong she started to apologize, but was cut off by Naruto wrapping her up in a bone crushing hug, whispering "thank you" over and over. The still-shy girl's brain shorted out at the close contact, and she fainted.

It took Naruto a second before he realized Hinata was out cold. When her fainting spells around him had started about a month ago, Naruto had been very worried. His friends assured him it was nothing to be concerned about, and he had always felt they were very amused about something. Used to it now he just shrugged, picking up Hinata and carrying her into class.

 **KAWA PASS SEA CHANNEL- OFF THE WEST COAST OF THE TEA PENINSULA**

Ryuusuke was standing at the prow of Tatsuya's flagship, the Dusky Rose, basking in the thrill of the hunt. Sea spray misted his smiling face as his eyes remained locked on the hulking cargo ship lumbering ahead. Tatsuya's daughters' ships, the Fury and the Fortune, raced along on either side tacking out to flank their prize as the Rose chased her. Ryuusuke had engraved seals along the keels of the three ships while in dry dock. The seals were part of his work with Himitsu's underwater entrance. The seals allowed the ships to ride higher in the water, lessening resistance. They also funneled the energy of the water being displaced at the bow to gather at the stern and reverse direction, effectively creating perpetual motion that propelled the ships forward. The seals could be controlled by an engraved wood handle next to the helm, acting like a throttle. These were undoubtedly the fastest ships afloat anywhere.

They had made great use of this speed to capture prize ships up and down the Kawa Pass. The Freebooter's Pact had called all the buccaneers of the Sakuru Sea together, and the effects of their raids were felt deeply in the countries of Tea, Rivers, Sakura, Sea, and Nature. Nature, Sakura, and Sea countries were the southern island nations neighboring the Tea peninsula. These countries had long been in Tea's shadow, and paid tithes to be protected by Tea and its merchant-marine navy. The Freebooter's still mostly left Wind and Fire ships alone… for now.

The first stage of Dark Tides had been to gather the pirates of the Sakuru together, then improve their armaments. The second stage had been implemented when the Namikaze family, along with the many merchant families with whom they dealt, had banded together to form the Free Market Merchant Alliance. A long winded name, the organization was usually just called the Free Market or Market. The purpose of the Market was to provide a challenger to the vastly powerful Elemental Merchants Guild, which held sway in Wind, Rivers, Fire, Sakura, Nature, Wave, and Sea countries. It just so happened to have its headquarters in politically neutral Tea.

This directly challenged the group that controlled the flow of goods and money in the entire southern half of the Elemental Nations. The goal of this elaborate plan was to give the Uzumaki's the economic influence they would need to pressure their smaller neighbors into allying with them while compelling the Wind daimyo to heavily favor Sunagakure once more, as long as Suna aided them of course. The next step was to attack and gut the fleets of the Guild and Tea. This plan would impoverish the Market's rivals, steal their influence, and gain control of the waters around Sanctuary and Himitsugakure in one fell swoop. Not to mention making the clan hideously wealthy off the prize money and increased trade. Toshi had been rather proud of it.

But right now, Ryuusuke was just focused on the hunt. The merchant ship was heading for a misty cloudbank rolling off the coast. If they slipped into that, they may escape. Ryuusuke snarled before shouting "More speed! We must get them before the fog does!" During the quiet times in between raiding ships, he worried about the thrill he got while pirating. This was supposed to be a mission, but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed certain aspects of the pirate life. The challenge of hunting down merchant ships being one of them. He enjoyed challenges, that's why fuinjutsu so enthralled him, since it offered endless challenges. And endless possibilities.

The call of a horn from the Fury sounded as she jibed from the left side of the merchant vessel to cut across its stern close enough to attack its rudder. The Fury unleashed a broadside from its cannon that destroyed the rudder and shredded the captain's cabin. Adrift, the ship quickly struck its colors, signaling its surrender. Ryuusuke could just barely make out the name of the ship above the ruined cabin, the Kono. Cheers could be heard from the three ships as the Kono was flying the flag of the Elemental Merchants Guild, which meant a fat haul for everyone. The Fury and the Fortune cut sail to come alongside the merchant vessel, throwing grappling hooks to bring the ships tight together.

Pirate boarding parties started swarming hastily set gang planks and even swung down from the rigging to claim their prize. Ryuusuke was a little disappointed, he had hoped for at least a token resistance. A contest of some sort. A meaty hand appeared on his shoulder as Tatsuya read his mood. "Ah, my friend, it is always good to claim a prize. But what is gold without glory, hmm?" Tatsuya smirked as Ryuusuke blushed a bit at being read so easily. "You may be in the wrong line of work, my dear Ryuusuke. Pirate-hunting, perhaps? I could hear your blood singing all the way from the quarterdeck" Tatsuya chided as he surveyed the prize his family had taken.

"No offense Kaizoku-ou, but I know where I belong. Doesn't mean I wouldn't turn down a decent challenge while I'm stuck out here with you sea rats." Ryuusuke shot back as he turned to his friend. "If I have to endure any more of your poetry without being able to kill someone-"Ryuusuke was cut off as chests on the foredeck at the front of their captured prey exploded, killing many pirates. Hidden cannon ports sprang open both port and starboard, unloading full broadsides into the Fury and the Fortune. Merchant-marines shouted battle cries as they sprang forth from their concealment to engage the pirates hand-to-hand.

"You just had to say it didn't you? You just had to jinx it" Tatsuya groused as he began shouting orders to his crew. When Ryuusuke made to run off, Tatsuya stopped him with a hand planted on his chest. "If anything happens to either of my daughters, you and I are going to have words later" Tatsuya growled with a steely gaze boring into Ryuusuke. Ryuusuke just nodded grimly before leaving to check on their supposed prey.

As Ryuusuke jumped from the Dusky Rose to the merchant ship, he felt a familiar form come up beside him. Looking over to Hidoki, he quickly issued terse orders. "Search and suppress all hostiles, find and secure all weapons and the main magazine, hide your shinobi skills unless necessary, then we aid the wounded." Hidoki just nodded as she drew her sabre, getting ready as troops rushed the two of them.

When the Kono fired its cannon, it had signaled ships waiting in the fog. Eight Tea naval vessels plus a pirate ship named the Lusty Wench, came gliding out towards the entangled quartet of ships. "Starboard bow ahoy!" cried a man in the Fortune's rigging. Kochume looked up, then spun around to bring a spyglass to her eye. She cursed when she saw nine ships bearing down on them. She ran to the poop deck at the very back of her ship and shouted across the water to the Fury. "Maora-nee sama! Ships incoming! It's a trap!" she warned her sister.

A tall, busty young woman with short, spiky slate-grey hair, one eye a piercing blue, the other covered by an eyepatch turned angrily from the marine attacking her. She absently blocked a sword strike then cut the offending marine down with her cutlass while staring at the incoming ships with a snarling visage. "Chu-chan! Break off and circle to port! Do you hear me Chu-chan!? Break off and swing about! Do it now!" she yelled back. The captain of the Fury was a fiery, fearless, and altogether bold woman in almost all things; but when it came to her little sister, Maora was doting, loving, and extremely protective.

The Fortune managed to break off and escape to open water before marines aboard the Kono threw grappling lines, fouling the Fury's rigging and further entangling the two ships. "All hands! Abandon the gun posts! Loaders, cut away those fucking hooks and dress that shit that used to be my rigging! Spongers and gunners, arm yourselves and help the boarding party! Kill any asshole who dares stand against you! Get us the hell away from this accursed ship, for fuck's sake." Maora marched back to the helm of her ship, growling out orders to the now reassigned cannon crews. The Rose swung out to port, using the Kono as a shield between her and the oncoming ships.

The Fortune tacked quickly to starboard and swung away from the Kono, before drifting out a bit more to gain a better sight line for their gunners. It ended up with the Kono dead in the water, the Fury lashed alongside her left railing, and the Tea ships approaching from her right side. The Dusky Rose was flanked out behind the front of the Kono to its left while the Fortune was flanked out behind the back of the Kono, both ships with their prows pointing out away from the Kono. The three ships could hold the defensive triangle pattern for a bit, but the oncoming armada was very troubling. Not to mention the still vicious fighting aboard the Kono itself. Tatsuya saw this and was beside himself as he listened to his beloved daughters cry out to each other.

"Maora-nee sama!" "Don't worry Chu-chan!" "Maora-nee sama!" "Eyes on target, Chu-chan! Fortune needs you to focus!" The Tea ships spread out, three ships forming a center while three ships spread to each flank in a crescent moon formation. Tatsuya called out to Ryuusuke as the opposing forces started trading sparse cannon fire to test the range. The pirates were already turned sideways to unload full broadside attacks, but the simple number superiority of the Tea armada made them more dangerous.

After a few traded cannonades, Ryuusuke looked up from the Kono's foredeck after he and Hidoki had secured the upper decks of the ship. His gaze darted from ship to ship, quickly assessing the situation. He had been expecting a heavy response at some point, since the Freebooter's had been taking a lot of merchant and Tea navy ships lately. The Sekimoto family, and their ships and men, were too valuable to lose. Ryuusuke nodded to himself as he made a decision while the Tea ships closed in.

"Tatsuya! I need you to break off and run!" Tatsuya looked over to him in shock and anger. "What!? What the hell are you saying Ryuusuke?" he shot back. "Go Tatsuya! Run! Do it and let them see you do it! Then I'm going to need you to pull an Ivan!" Ryuusuke ordered. Tatsuya was perplexed for a moment before a devious smile crawled across his face. He nodded sternly to Ryuusuke before turning to give the order. When told the same, Kochume balked for moment before grimly turning to give her own orders.

The Rose and the Fortune swung away in opposite directions from the Kono, appearing to abandon their trapped ship. The Tea admiral lowered his spyglass when he noticed this. "Hmmph! Sea rats indeed! Look how they scurry, leaving their comrades behind without a second's hesitation. Split the fleet around the Kono. Push the line forward, I want those ships taken or sunk immediately" he order. His deck master saluted crisply, before running off to carry out his command.

Some of the Tea ships had started trading shots with the Rose and the Fortune as they raced away in opposite directions from the intertwined Kono and Fury. Jagged shards of wood and metal were flying everywhere as ships fired at will. Ryuusuke surveyed the carnage grimly, waiting for the first of the encircling Tea ships to start passing by, chasing after their quarry. He knew it was time.

Nodding firmly to himself, "broken arrow" he said to Hidoki. She spun to Ryuusuke in shock, "what? What did you say?" Casting a minor voice-amplification jutsu, Ryuusuke caused his order to boom out over the waves. " **Now hear this! All forces, Broken Arrow! Repeat, Broken Arrow!** " All of a sudden, destructive jutsu lanced out from each of the Freebooter's ships to strike out at the Tea armada as the Uzu ninja seeded among the Sekimoto pirate forces revealed their true nature. A handful of Uzu ninjas vaulted from their respective vessels and charged across the water at the attacking ships.

Cannon balls and crossbow bolts shot out at them, erupting and spouting up geysers of water. The corpses of the unfortunate sank into the unforgiving waters. The Uzu-nin responded with blades of wind that shredded sails, bullets of stone that tore hulls, and gouts of flame that roasted flesh. The Rose and the Fortune took the opportunity to fire cannonade after cannonade at the invading force. The crew of the Fury had taken control of the Kono when the Uzu-nin had revealed their true abilities, dispatching the remaining defenders quickly.

The Tea admiral looked on as the fleeing ships continued to shed ninja while they ran. He turned to his first mate. "That smacks of desperation, don't you agree? What cowards" he spat. "Sir, we should be wary. They have a disturbing number of ninja, more than we were led to believe" his first mate spoke up. The admiral eyed him haughtily "The last two ships of these Freebooter scum had ninja. We sank them, did we not? We have the weather gauge, thus we have the advantage and will control this battle. Besides, they left their ninja out on the water to die. These pirate filth lack the stomach for a true battle."

The admiral haughtily turned away to lift his spyglass again, the conversation obviously over in his opinion. The first mate noticed that the majority of the ninja being killed out in the water were popping into smoke as they fell. He was about to speak up again, but decided not to push his luck. Besides, who could tell with ninja? Maybe that's just how some of them died. Looking over to his master gunner, the first mate gave orders to start using sweeps of grape shot from the cannon. That should clear the waters of these pesky ninja.

Below decks in the Kono, the new owners were waiting for the last of the Tea fleet to come into range. Without a rudder, the Kono could only fire at the Tea ships approaching straight at them. These happened to be the ships in the center as the two flanks were still moving around to chase the Rose and Fortune. Ryuusuke was hurriedly looking through the ammunition locker, when he suddenly gave a shout of triumph.

"Perfect! I was hoping these would be here! Every one, hurry! Load these and fire when I tell you. Any shinobi left in here?" When he spotted a few hands go up, he smirked and rubbed his hands together. "Good, now get up on deck and hide, but don't attack until I signal. The signal will be a fireball in the air between the ships. When you see that, slip quietly over to the Tea ships and try to take out any commanding officers you can recognize. Any of you with shadow clone ability, this is the perfect time to use them. Use as few wide range destructive jutsu as possible. Go."

As the ninja ghosted away, and the gun crew got to work, Hidoki sidled up to Ryuusuke with a playful smile. "What is that evil genius mind of yours up to now, Ryuu-kun?" she asked. Ryuusuke turned to her in mock indignation. "How could you forget Doki-chan? It's obviously my birthday, since Tea was nice enough to give me a fleet" he responded. "Now I just have to go out and accept my presents" Ryuusuke stated before striding forward to the gun batteries. Hidoki just rolled her eyes as she followed.

The gun crews finished loading just as the center ships were about to split around the Kono. Ryuusuke hurriedly gave last minute orders. "Fire!" Ryuusuke shouted. The guns of the Kono erupted, spewing flame and metal. The cannons loaded with chain-shot aimed for the masts of the ships. Twin metal balls spun toward the masts, a thick chain attaching them. One unfortunate marine was caught in between a shot and the main mast, the chain nearly cutting him in two before the balls swung around and crushed him. Masts and rigging were decimated, slowing the ships and crippling one.

The other guns had been loaded with grape shot, canvas bags filled with metal balls and shuriken. These were aimed a bit lower, sweeping the upper decks clear of soldiers and gunners as the hail of metal cut them down. "Excellent! Reload, same firing assignments! Two more volleys, then go help the Fury's men. Hidoki on me" Ryuusuke said, he then turned and slipped out one of the gun ports down to the water. " _Kami, I love it when he's so commanding"_ Hidoki followed with a small blush.

Hidoki covered Ryuusuke as he snuck up to the only remaining functional ship as the Kono's three volleys had crippled a second, which was the flagship. He placed low yield explosive tags that he had modified to explode in a certain direction onto the rudder. He usually used these for blowing open locked doors. Just to be safe, he placed many more along the hull at the waterline. Looking up, he read the ship's name. " _Scourge of the Sea, huh?"_ he thought with a snort " _how modest"_.

The seals placed, Ryuusuke shot a fireball straight up, where it exploded into a shower of sparks. Tatsuya and Kochume smiled, crying out in near unison on their respective ships "Crazy Ivan! Crazy Ivan!" Oars came out of the Dusky Rose's right side, while oars came out of the left side of the Fortune all dipping into the water. Sea anchors were released on the same side as the oars, while Tatsuya and Kochume throttled back on the movement seals. Both ships turned sharply to face each other with the Tea fleet between them. The oars were shipped back into the boats and release catches hit, causing the chains holding the sea anchors to fall into the sea.

Tatsuya and Kochume then both waited impatiently for the sails to be dropped before they shot the seal throttles forward, hurtling their respective vessels forward past the pursuing ships. The Tea ships were caught flat footed and couldn't change course fast enough to stop the Rose or the Fortune. The Uzu-nin had been waiting for this opportunity. "Suiton: Tidal Wave" "Fuuton: Great Breakthrough" Massive waves formed to the Tea ships' port sides, while gales of wind gusted into their top sails. Five of the six pursuit ships were lifted out of the water and capsized. The Fortune quickly came up on the one reaming upright ship's stern and raked it with broadsides from its cannon.

The Fortune quickly came alongside and boarded, slaughtering the shell shocked marines aboard with the help of the ninja. The Tea admiral was in denial as his fleet's fortunes were suddenly and viciously reversed. The Fury had finally recovered enough to limp along around the Kono and join in the fight with the three ships that still had soldiers remaining. The Rose and the Fury pulled alongside the flagship and boarded it. The marines had surrendered quickly though, when ninjas had assassinated their commanders like vengeful wraiths.

Tatsuya laughed when he came aboard to see one of Ryuusuke's badger summons scampering around on all fours, clawing at the base of the main mast. On a spar horizontally attached to the mast, a foppish man in a ridiculously embroidered ceremonial uniform was clinging to it with his arms and legs. Every time his ass drooped down, the badger would jump up and claw at it, eliciting a girlish scream from the man. The man actually started crying when his absurdly large admiral's cap fell off and the badger pounced on it, tearing it to pieces.

"Let me down! Have you no honor? Have you no honor!?" the admiral pleaded. "Mujinaren, that's enough. Get the fool down" Ryuusuke laughed. The badger just stopped chewing on the hat, and stood up. Mujinaren shrugged "as you wish, Ryuusuke-sama." The Badger looked up at the shocked man. "Too bad, I was going to get me an ear too." The admiral sputtered before getting out "it... it can TALK!?" He lost his grip in his surprise to go crashing to the deck.

The onlookers just laughed as he flopped on the deck, trying to regain his breath. Ryuusuke walked forward and caught the crowd's attention. "Alright, alright enough fun and games. Let's get these ships collected. Bring the prisoners together in the hold of the Kono. Get those capsized boats righted before they take too much water, and secure any remaining marines aboard. Boys and girls, we got ourselves a fleet." The pirates and ninjas around him all cheered, before they went off to carry out their tasks.

Tatsuya grabbed the admiral and hoisted him to his feet. "Well my fabulously dressed friend, how can we repay such generosity? A whole fleet just for us? You have our deepest thanks." Tatsuya swept off his tri-corner hat and gave an elaborate bow. Straightening, he turned to Ryuusuke. "What shall we do with him?" Ryuusuke just shrugged "I'm sure he'll fetch a good price from Tea" and walked off with Hidoki following.

 **IWAGAKURE- DUNGEONS**

Chains clinked softly in a dank, dark cell deep beneath the Tsuchikage's Tower. A rat chittered as it scuttled along the base of the rough-hewn wall, its nose twitching nervously. Suddenly the clank of chains and a startled squeak could be heard, before a wet crunching as the rat was devoured. The sound of a door being opened caused the creature to abandon its meal to retreat to the darkest corner of the cell. It huddled in nervous expectation as footsteps echoed in the hall outside its cage.

The cell door opened and the creature flinched from the invasion of light as its familiar darkness was stripped away. The light revealed a wretched boy of around 9 or 10 years old, clad only in rags and chains. Filthy, spiky red hair shadowed haunted eyes that peered fearfully out at the menacing figure in the doorway. As the figure spoke, its rasping voice clawed its way down the boy's spine, leaving terror and despair in its wake. "So you're still alive, are you?" A long, serpentine tongue slithered out and licked the figure's lips menacingly, as a dark, inhuman chuckle escaped. "Kukuku. Such a prize specimen, you will give me such superb data."

Almost mechanically, the boy felt his gaze dragged inexorably to meet the merciless observation of the sinister yellow eyes regarding him, which had slit pupils like a snake... or a demon. The child curled into a ball, huddling in fear as the figure approached. The cell door swung shut, muting a child's screams and unholy laughter.

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A/N- I'm happier with this chapter than the last one, I hope you agree. I realized that I had screwed up my timeline and had to cram things into the last chapter, while rushing a few in this one. I am trying to keep somewhat to the canon timeline, and I feel like we're back on track.

I thank you all for taking the time to read and follow my humble story. I really appreciate all the feedback I get in reviews, as well. I haven't left many reviews on this site, and I'm grateful for those that take the time to do so with me.

Oh, and kudos to reviewer Wabadoo for catching the Hearthstone easter egg I put in Chpt. 2. Cheers!


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